Separated At Birth
by TracyCook
Summary: Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore are brothers in a world where demons and humans are at war. Stefan was born looking human and he was to one day be the king, Damon was born with demonic traits and out of shame his mother threw him from the cliffs. He was supposed to die, but he didn't. Instead he met a human girl, Bonnie Bennett, who saved him, and he fell in love with her.
1. Chapter 1

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter One**

_**I am Imperfect,**_

_**But I deserve love as well.**_

A mother of royalty only has one wish.

She wishes to be capable of giving birth to a young man who can carry on the family name. She wishes to be able to provide that for her husband, the king.

So, when she found that she was giving birth to not only one beautiful son, but two, of course she was ecstatic. There was simply no other way for her to look at the situation, she was blessed.

Her blue eyes shimmered with tears as she held her first son protectively in her hands as he was delivered. He was a heavy child. This brought a smile to her lips. For, a heavy child would prove to grow big and strong, and one day the young man would be able to take care of their country.

"His name shall be, Stefan Salvatore." She informed proudly.

"Miss."

"What is it?" She asked, her face contorting in concern as she stared over at the doctor who was holding the other boy. He was wrapped tightly in a blanket and she could not see his face. It terrified her. Her heart started pounding rapidly as she imagined all of the terrible things that could have happened to him. "Is he alright?"

"No! Something—something isn't right with this one!" The doctor's fear alarmed her further and she handed Stefan over to one of the nurses.

She pushed herself up into a seated position and held out her hands to the doctor. "Let me see him."

"Miss, I don't know if that would be a good idea. He doesn't look safe."

"What in the Lord's name do you mean by that!? Let me see my son!"

"This is not your son, miss. This is a monster."

She reached out and grabbed the baby from the doctor's hands before he could suffocate him. She was not going to allow anyone to kill her precious—her eyes met his face and she gasped. There was nothing precious about the monster wiggling around in her arms. He was disgusting. One of the most revolting sights that she had ever seen. And she had seen many a demon in her day.

The thing cradled in her arms was not quite a demon, nor was he a human.

His eyes were glowing blue, and matching blue scales covered the side of his face traveling down over half of his body. He had razor sharp teeth and pointed ears. One of his hands belonged to a human boy; the other was the claw of a demon. His feet were both the claws of wild lizards, and he had small wings on his back.

"This—this thing—how can it be—this can't be my baby!"

"He is, Miss."

She knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that she was horrendous. That she had cheated on the king with some demonic scum and that was how she had created such an abomination. She could not let him know what had happened. The king could not find out. No one could find out.

"He is not mine! This is not my baby boy, this is a demon!" She stood to her feet and made her way out of the castle. There was no way that she could keep such a disgrace.

Without hesitation, she ran to the edge that the Castle sat upon. It was high up in the cliffs over the ocean. If she were to drop the child into the waters below then he would die and no one would ever know of the sins that she had committed. She would never have to relive the shame that she felt. She would never have to see his face again. So, she lifted the baby over the ledge and closed her eyes. Taking in a deep breath.

She dropped him.

Watching him plummet toward the rocks below.

Hearing his panicked cries.

O

She watched as her son Stefan played in the field beyond the castle walls. She frequently watched him from the tower window. He was nearly ten years old and he was already growing into a strong young gentleman. She knew that he would have no problem sweeping a woman off of her feet, or protecting the palace from demons.

The threat of demons had intensified as the years went by. They had decided that they wanted to move out of the slums and into the cities.

People were fighting back to keep the cities safe from their kind, but they continued to invade. They built tunnels underground so that they could live within the city walls in secrecy, and they attempted to mate with humans. Those who mated with the demons were kicked out of the city, or worse, they were brutally executed by the king.

Those who were born a mixed breed were often beaten. Some were murdered.

No one cared if they died.

They were not human after all.

She watched as Stefan lifted the wooden sword that he was practicing with and attacked his father with it. The two of them were only playing. But, it was obvious that Stefan was hastily learning how to fight in battle. He was an intelligent young boy with a marvelous memory.

Just watching him caused her chest to swell with pride and happiness.

Sometimes she did recall the other, though. It made her stomach flip with disgust just thinking about the little monster. She had told her husband that he had died during childbirth, that there was nothing that she could have done to save him. Occasionally she felt guilty for killing her other son, yet most times she felt relieved. Relieved that he was gone and that she would never have to admit her sins.

Stefan showed no signs of demonic presence, unlike his brother.

He was just a normal little boy.

"Ahh! Ahh!" Stefan shouted as he slammed the wooden sword against his father's. His smile spread clear across his face as he twisted around him and stabbed him in the back. The king feigned his death and fell to the ground, holding onto his back and letting out groans of pain.

"I win again!"

"Yes you do, dear boy." His father said with a grin as he stood to his feet and bowed politely to his son. Stefan bowed in return. "You may be a suitable king one day."

"I'm gonna be more than a suitable king, father! I'm going to be the best king ever!" His eyes shimmered with excitement that made his father so proud. "Besides you, of course."

He laughed and ran a hand through Stefan's hair. "Of course."

Every so often the king wondered what it would have been like to have had another son. He wondered what the other young boy would have been like. If he would have been more powerful, or better fit to be the king. He knew that Stefan would make a wonderful king, but sometimes it was too hard not to wonder and he allowed curiosity to get the best of him.

"Are you ready for supper, Stefan? You've been playing all day. You must be starved."

"Yes, father." Stefan cast his eyes up at his father as they started to walk back toward the castle where they would eat a lovely feast.

O

He did not have a name. He did not have a family. He did not have an identity.

He had spent ten years of his life hiding in the caves outside of the city. Whenever he went into the demon territory he was made fun of and attacked for looking different than them, in human territory he was beaten to the ground for not looking like them. So, he settled on living in the caves between the lands, where no one would ever find him.

Sometimes he was forced to travel into the cities in order to buy clothes or necessities. But, for the most part he managed on his own.

His lip curved up into a devious half smile as he threw a rock into the lake and watched as it skipped across the waters. Leaving a path of ripples behind it. Then he paused as he caught sight of his reflection in the waters.

Every time he looked at himself he felt disgusting.

He was a monster.

Blue scales covered the left side of his face and traveled up along his long pointed ears that extended through long black shaggy hair. His teeth were sharp and jagged like a demon, and his eyes glowed, but the rest of his face belonged to a human boy. The scales ventured down over one of his arms and half of his exposed torso, and the hand with the scales did not belong to a human. His fingers were large with sharp claws on the end of each fingertip. His other half of his body and hand belonged to a human.

His thighs were that of a human, until they reached his knees and then they too were covered in blue scales. His feet, the claws of a lizard that were strong and allowed him to climb skillfully. Along with these distinguishing traits, he had wings that extended from his back up over his head.

He had never been taught how to fly, but with time he was getting better.

Honestly, he did not know what his purpose in life was and on many occasions he had contemplated just allowing the humans or demons to rip him apart. He wanted them to treat him like an equal, but no one ever did.

He did not understand why he was different looking then the rest of them.

Throwing the last stone into the water he watched as his reflection shimmered into extinction before his very eyes. He hated the sight of himself. It was a rarity that he ever even looked at himself. Reaching into the water he wet his human hand and then ran the water along his face, wetting back his dark wild hair so that it was not in his face.

He had to venture into the human world today.

He needed to steal more food from the shop in the city.

Heading back into the cave that he called his home, he retrieved a hooded coat that he wore in order to hide from the humans when he was in the city. He tucked his wings in and then slung the article of clothing over his shoulders, pulling the hood down to cover his ears and face. As long as no one knocked it off of him, he could probably get through the city unnoticed despite his legs.

'_Thud, thud, thud.' _His heart was pounding loudly in his chest as he walked the road toward the city. He hated returning there. If the humans were to see him again there was a good chance that they would slaughter him. They hated him more than he hated himself.

Waiting until the guard was preoccupied with another person entering the city, he ran through the gates and instantly hid in the backstreets.

No one had seen him yet.

Now all that he had to do was follow the back alley toward one of the black markets, and then he would be in the clear. He ducked and started to run down the alley. At the last minute he took a sharp turn and tripped over his clawed feet running into one of the townspeople. His hood fell down over his shoulders as he stumbled to the ground in front of a group of large intimidating looking men.

They were three times his size and twice his age.

There was no way that he could take them on.

"Well, well, well, what do we got here?" One of the men asked, crossing his tattooed arms over his chest as he stared down at the mixed breed. "Another demon trying to get into the city to cause some trouble, eh?"

He pulled the hood back down in an attempt to cover his face, but it was too late. They had already witnessed his true colors and he could no longer hide who he was. "No, it's not like that. I just needed some food. I'm starving and—"

"—Did ya hear that you guys? The little demon boy is starving." He started to laugh at the young boy before kneeling down and staring deep into his glowing blue eyes. "What, didn't eat enough humans to fill ya up? You had to come back into the city to kill a few more of us?"

"I don't eat humans." He defended honestly. The thought revolted him.

Unlike other demons, he was cursed with a conscience.

"Sure ya don't! What kinda demon are ya if ya don't eat humans?" The man laughed and reached out to wrap his large hand around the half-demon's throat, tightening his grip until he was coughing and desperately attempting to fill his lungs with air.

"Jo, Jim, grab his wings."

The other humans who were with him walked over to him and grabbed ahold of his wings. One holding on to each of them.

"On the count of three tear 'em clean off!"

"One."

"Two."

Suddenly the man's shirt caught on fire and he screamed out loudly, jumping around and batting away at his clothes.

He turned to look up at the men holding onto his wings and he realized that they too had let go and were batting away at their clothes that were engulfed in flames. Out of the corner of his eye he witnessed a young girl. She was probably five years old, had long dark hair that went down over her shoulders, gorgeous caramel skin, and shimmering green eyes that were fixated on the scene at hand.

For a moment he wondered if she had something to do with the men suddenly combusting in flames, but he did not have long to dwell on it. The fire was wearing off and they looked even more infuriated then before.

So, the young mixed breed took that moment to run for it, darting down one of the dark alleys.

O

Author's Note:

I have been going through some hard times as of late… and I am finding it difficult to find inspiration, but I am really enjoying writing this fic and my other Bamon fics. I am worried that I am not writing well enough though, so please do tell me if y'all are enjoying this idea. There will be tons of Bamon and other couples/characters involved in this fic. I would love to know what y'all think and if y'all want me to continue.

So if y'all want to read more send some reviews my way and I promise to work on the next chapter ASAP! Thank you all for reading!

Love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


	2. Chapter 2

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Two**

_**Can You See The Beauty In Me?**_

_**The Beauty They All Refuse To See.**_

He sat beside the lake with his legs crossed, taking a bite out of a loaf of bread that he had managed to steal from one of the shops in the city. His mind was replaying what the man had accused him of. Eating humans. He supposed that if he were a normal demon that is exactly what he would eat, but he could not find it in himself to eat an innocent human.

It sickened him that he was incapable of being like the other demons.

They tormented him and ridiculed him for being different than them, but he had always felt more at home when he was in the demon lands. He felt like he belonged with them. He had a stronger connection to protecting their kind from the humans, saving them, being one of them. He never wanted to be a human.

Humans were weak and pathetic. They pretended to be strong and all powerful whilst hiding behind their technology and gadgets. He was weak now, but one day he would grow to be stronger than any human could ever dream to be. And he was only a half-breed. His muscles tensed as he recalled the way that the humans had treated him in town. Their kind made it difficult not to hate them.

Demons were despicable disgusting creatures, but at least they were upfront about it. Humans always pretended to be compassionate and loving. Deep down most of them were just as, if not more, despicable than the demons.

At the end of the day he belonged to neither race, though.

He belonged nowhere and was loved by none.

Suddenly he heard the ruffling of leafs across the lake and his long ears twitched at the sound, his head snapped in the direction and his blue eyes fixated on the bush. He watched as the leafs moved again and he furrowed his brow, squinting his eyes.

'_Is someone hiding in that bush…?' _He wondered, setting down his food and pushing himself to his feet.

Before he could make a move toward the bush, he caught a glimpse of what was hiding behind the shrubbery. He could make out two shimmering green eyes between the branches and he instantly recognized them. His mind returned to a few hours prior when he was being attacked and a young girl saved his life. He knew that the eyes belonged to his savior. This realization caused his heart to start pounding loudly in his ears.

Cautiously he took a few steps toward the bushes. Blue eyes connected to green in an intense stare. "Hey there."

The girl said nothing in return. She simply stared at him.

"You're the girl from the alley right?"

Again she did not say anything.

"Come out here." He told her. His pose was one of hesitation, for he had witnessed what the young girl was capable of and he could not be certain that she would not hurt him as well. His mind was racing with questions that he needed answered. _'Why did she save me? What was that magic that she was using? Why did she follow me home? What does she want with me?' _

The girl still had not moved.

"Come out here. I need to talk to you. Please?"

Finally, the leafs started to move around and the young girl reached up pushing the branches out of her way so that she could walk out of the bush. It was definitely the same girl. He allowed his eyes to look her over once more. She looked frail and could not be older than the age of five, yet she possessed such unbelievable powers. He had never heard of a human with magical powers before.

What baffled him more so than her age and powers was the fact that she did not look afraid. Whenever he went into the human world the kids who witnessed him would always run the other direction. He could not make friends with them because they thought that he was a monster.

She did not look at him with the same eyes.

Her eyes were soft and kind. They held concern for him and that confused him.

He did not understand the concept of compassion. No one had ever given him love; no one had ever cared if he lived or if he died, so he could not begin to comprehend how some little girl could possibly care if he was safe. It made no sense to him and it actually frustrated him. It made him think that she wanted something out of him or she planned to betray him.

No other reasoning made sense to him.

People did not do good just for the sake of doing good.

The girl moved toward him and took a seat beside the lake where he had just been sitting. She did not say anything to him, but she did stare up at him with eyes that begged him to sit beside her. She wanted him to be near her? Furrowing his brow he took a seat on the ground beside her and crossed his legs. Suddenly feeling self-conscious about the scales that covered them and his clawed toes.

He glanced over at her, but she had not even noticed them. She did not care about his deformities. Reaching down he took another bite of the loaf of bread before feeling compelled to share with the girl beside him.

Handing her another loaf he smiled gently as she took a bite out of it.

He found comfort in the silence that surrounded them as they ate.

O

"Stefan dear!"

He heard his mother shout to him from the hallway and he jumped from the bed to the ground. Sometimes his imagination got the best of him, and he would jump on the bed as he pretended to fend off demons. His mother had told him numerous times not to jump on his bed and he was worried that he would get in trouble.

"Yes, mother!?" Stefan asked as he opened the door to his bedroom and smiled innocently up at her.

She eyed him warily, knowing that he had been doing something that he was not supposed to. The sheets on his bed were ruffled up and his normally well-kept hair was wild and unruly. "Were you jumping on your bed again?"

Her tone of voice scared him and he looked away ashamed. "Sorry…"

His mother knew that he was not truly sorry for his actions and that the young boy would do it again, but now was not the time to worry about reprimanding him. "Come sit down, dear." She told him as she moved into the room and walked toward the messy bed, taking a seat on the edge and patting the bed beside her. "I have something important that I need to speak with you about."

Stefan looked at her with confused eyes as he walked across his bedroom toward his bed, taking a seat beside his mother.

"What is it mother?"

She looked to be conflicted about something and that worried the young boy.

Reaching out she placed a hand over Stefan's knee and smiled down at him. "I needed to speak with you about the young woman that you shall be having supper with this evening."

"What woman?"

"Her name is Caroline Forbes and she is a family friend. You remember the Forbes family correct?"

Stefan nodded his head and smiled up at her. He loved hanging out with Caroline when he was younger. The two of them were practically best friends.

"Well, you remember how your father and I informed you that you would be meeting the woman that you will marry?" He nodded his head again, although the thought of getting married to someone was a farfetched idea to him. He had never even had a crush on a girl. "Caroline is to be that girl and her parents and us would like for the two of you to get to know each other on better terms."

"I'm gonna marry her?" Stefan almost shouted.

"Lower your voice." She reprimanded and he immediately did as he was told.

"Mother, I am not ready to marry anyone yet! I'm only ten years old." He whispered desperately. He was not prepared to fall in love with anyone. "I mean, I like Caroline a lot, but I just want to be her friend."

"That will change with age dear boy. You are not to marry her for many years. We just wish for the two of you to spend some time getting to know each other in preparation for that time. Caroline is a wonderful young woman and you will learn to love her, Stefan. You'll see."

"But mother—"

"—this discussion is over. Caroline will be over for supper this evening and you will treat her with the respect that she deserves. Understood?"

Stefan pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Understood."

O

As they finished their food, the young girl wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them to her chest, smiling in his direction. He did not know what he was expecting her to say when she finally broke the silence. But, he never thought that it would be, "So, my name's Bonnie Bennett, what's yours?"

He cocked his head to the side and stared at her perplexed. _'Did she just ask me what my name was…?' _The truth was he did not have a name. He had never had a family or friends so there had never been a purpose to have one.

"You want to know my name?" He raised a brow and ran his human hand through his long dark hair.

"Of course. I want to know what to call you." Bonnie said with a small laugh.

"I uh…" He paused and thought about it for a moment longer. Why did the young girl want to know what to call him? Why did it matter to her at all? It did not make sense to him that she looked at him like he was just normal. Like he was like everyone else. "Why do you need to know what to call me?"

She laughed some more and his heart sped up. Her laughter was like music to his ears. "Because, we're friends now."

"Friends?"

Bonnie nodded, her long dark hair falling over her eyes.

He stared at her for a moment longer before answering her previous question. He did not know how she could call him a friend. She hardly even knew him. "I don't have a name. I grew up alone so I never really needed one."

"Oh…" She knit her brows together in thought and then smiled brightly as she concluded, "I can name you if you want!"

His heart leapt again and he found himself doing something that he had never done before. He was laughing. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Suddenly, Bonnie started to look him over, examining him in order to give him a name. He squirmed a little beneath her gaze as he waited for her to say something.

Finally, she cocked her head to the side and said. "I think you look like a Damon."

He immediately found himself growing fond of the name. Damon. It was not a name that he would have picked for himself, but it was a name that meant a lot to him. Because, Bonnie had been the one who had given it to him. That made it special.

He could tell already that she was a very special girl.

She was nonjudgmental and she saw him for who he truly was. She did not hate him for his appearance. She did not look at him with disgust. Bonnie was a good person and that was what made her special and unique. That was what made her different from anyone else that he had ever met.

Prior to today he did not have a name.

Prior to today he did not have a friend.

Prior to today he did not have hope for the future.

Bonnie Bennett had changed all of those things within a few measly hours.

O

Authors Note:

Thank you all so much for all of your wonderful reviews! They encouraged me to write out the next chapter! I hope that y'all like it as much as you liked the last chapter! Please do leave me some reviews and I promise to get the next chapter out ASAP! Tell me what y'all think! What you wanna see! What you think will happen! What other characters you would like to see? Who should be the main demons? Main humans? The later chapters will have conflict between Bamon and Damon will grow up to be more like he is in TVD.

Thank you guys so much! I love you all for the encouragement! Your reviews keep me writing!

-Tracy Cook


	3. Chapter 3

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Three**

_**Fate Is Not Something to Be Controlled**_

_**It Is Something to Be Accepted. **_

The supper with Caroline and her parents had been quite uncomfortable for Stefan. He had not been granted the opportunity to actually speak with the woman who was supposed to be his future wife; instead their parents dominated the conversation. They spoke of their children's futures, skills, what they could offer to each other, and what they could offer to the future of their kingdoms.

No one spoke of the involvement of love or similar hobbies.

It was all business.

Now their parents had escorted them to a room to spend time together while they discussed their future. Stefan and Caroline were powerless in the situation. Everything had already been decided.

Both children stood together awkwardly in the room. They did not know if they were permitted to play or if they were simply supposed to talk about their marriage. Neither even understood what a marriage was. Neither had ever been in love. Stefan cast his eyes to the beautiful blonde, catching her blue eyes in a stare. He searched them. He could see that she too was confused about the arrangement.

'_She does not want this either…'_

Stefan took a step toward Caroline. Watching as the curls bounced around the frame of her face. She truly was a gorgeous woman and maybe one day he could love her, but he did not love her now. She was just a friend. He was just a boy.

"You don't want this." He paused. "Do you?"

"Do you?" Caroline wondered curiously. She did not know what it was that she wanted, truthfully. She wanted to be married someday, she wanted to be a queen, she just did not know if Stefan was to be her king.

"Honestly?"

She nodded and offered him a small smile as she took a few steps toward him.

"I do not know what I want." He laughed a little to relieve the tension in the room. "I want to be a king one day. I want to be married one day. But, right now…" He looked down at the floor and kicked the stones beneath his feet. "I think that I just wish to be a boy. I have fun with you Caroline. I just..." His voice trailed off. He felt guilty for denying her marriage.

"I'm sorry." Stefan apologized.

"Don't be sorry." Caroline said. "I know how you feel. I mean, one day I want to be married, but I am not ready yet. I just want to be a kid. You know?"

"I know."

Silence surrounded the two of them for a moment and then Stefan's lips twisted up into a mischievous grin. "Well, we aren't to be married for many years to come, so why worry about it all now? Why worry about what our parents want us to be doing at this very moment?" He caught her eyes with his once more and her lips quirked up playfully.

"What are you suggesting, Stefan?"

"I am suggesting that we just be kids for now. Come on! I'll fetch the swords!" He turned to start running out of the room and down the corridor with Caroline laughing as she ran behind him.

O

"Why are you not afraid of me?"

Bonnie glanced over at Damon as he spoke and her eyes widened. She did not know why he would think that she would be afraid of him. "Why would I be?"

He chewed on his cheeks and stared down at his clawed hand, clenching it tightly until the tips of his claws dug into his skin painfully. It almost felt as though she was taunting him by not noticing his differences. How could she possibly just not notice?

"Because, I am different than the others. I am not human nor am I a demon. I am a monster."

"You are different." Bonnie agreed. Damon turned and stared at her with wide blue eyes, he looked offended by her words. "You're not like people back in the city. You're much nicer than them."

He furrowed his brow in confusion at her words. Now he was lost. He had thought that she was going to say that he was different because of his appearance, not because he was nice. "How do you know I'm nice, Bonnie? You don't even know anything about me."

"I can kinda sense these things." She smiled and his heart leapt. Damon loved her smile.

"What do you mean you can sense these things?"

"I don't know. My daddy says I have a gift. I don't know how it works." Bonnie shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to the lake. "I just can kinda sense when people are good or evil, and you are good Damon."

"How can I possibly be good if I have demon blood in me?"

"I dunno. You just are."

Damon allowed the words to sink in and he too focused his attention on the lake as he processed them. He just was a good person. Bonnie thought of him as all other good people, she did not notice his differences. She did not judge him. He could not accept it. "I cannot believe you. You must notice that I am different than the others."

"Nope."

Now he was growing angry with her. He hated that she treated him with such kindness. He did not know how to handle it. Damon never felt like he deserved any compassion from anyone. "You must notice it!" He growled out, his voice low and deep. He wanted her to be scared of him.

"I don't, so stop trying to make me."

"You must, Bonnie! I can't just accept that you think of me as normal!" Damon threw his hand down in frustration. The young girl didn't even flinch. She was not scared of him in the slightest. "Look at me! You should be scared of me! I am different than the others! I am terrible!" His voice broke and she turned to see the tears shimmering in his blue eyes, it broke her heart.

His breathing was heavy as he spoke in a softer voice. "Look at me. I'm—I'm a monster."

"You're not a monster." Bonnie insisted, reaching up and touching the scales that covered the side of his face. He flinched at the contact and pulled away from her touch.

"I am a monster." Damon insisted stubbornly. "I'm different."

"Do you think I'm a monster…?"

Her question threw him off and he hesitated on how to respond to her. Why would she be asking if she were a monster to him? Of course she wasn't a monster. She was just a little girl. "No. Of course not."

"I'm different." Bonnie said with a small smile, reaching up and tracing her fingers along the scales of his cheek to wipe away the tears. He was shocked by how perceptive the girl was for her age. She was extremely intelligent and she read people well. "I have magic and people don't like it. My daddy tells me to hide it so people don't hate me. Am I a monster?"

Suddenly it all made sense and he realized she was right. Humans hated magic almost as much as they hated the demons.

A smile graced Damon's lips and his breathing calmed as he told her, "No, I don't think you're a monster."

"I don't think you're a monster either."

Bonnie smiled and then turned to look up at the sky. The sun was already going down and she knew that her father would be worried about where she was. She was not supposed to be out past sunset. "I've gotta get going soon, my daddy will get mad if I stay out."

"Oh…" Damon did not want to see her leave. She was the only friend that he had ever had, the only company that he had had in his entire lifetime. But, he knew that he could not hold her captive and force her to stay.

She turned and smiled at him. "I can ask my daddy if you can stay with us!"

Her voice was so hopeful.

"No. I'm fine." He immediately dismissed the idea. There was no way that he would be safe staying in the human lands. And he didn't wish to take anyone's pity or charity. He had survived his entire lifetime alone and he did not need for some other father to take him in. His own father didn't even want him. "Thanks. I'd rather stay here."

Bonnie's smile fell and it hurt him to see her looking sad all of a sudden. But, just as soon as her smile had fallen it returned brightly. "Okay, you don't mind if I come by and see you tomorrow do you?"

Damon's lips twisted up into a half smile.

"I don't mind."

O

"Hiyah!" Stefan shouted out loudly as he slammed his sword against Caroline's. She blocked his attack and deflected his sword before attacking him in a similar manner. The two of them had been sword fighting for a few hours now and their parents were still nowhere to be found.

"Good job!" He said with a wide smile as he twisted around her and poked her in the back with his sword. "But not good enough! Drop your sword!"

Before Caroline had the chance to drop her sword they heard the voice of her father at the door. "Both of you should drop your swords this instant."

Both kids turned to stare at their parents in the doorway, their eyes large and full of worry as they did. They could tell by the looks on their faces that the two of them were in a lot of trouble. Dropping their swords they stood tall and placed their hands behind their backs as they awaited their punishment.

"What on earth do you think you are doing Caroline!?" Her father asked angrily, walking toward her and picking up the sword. "What have I told you about playing with swords?"

Caroline forced a sad smile up at her father. "That no man will ever wish to marry a woman who plays with swords."

"And it is true. A prince wishes to marry a proper young woman not a scoundrel. I mean just look at what you have done to yourself. Your hair is a mess and your dress is wrinkled."

"I'm sorry father." She apologized, bowing her head in shame.

Stefan hated the way that her father spoke to her. In fact he hated the way that both of their parents spoke down to them and treated them like they were not allowed to be kids. Everything was about the kingdom and business, not about enjoying life and having a childhood. He hated it. He understood that they needed to protect the kingdom from demons and war with other countries, but he did not allow it to consume him.

"We were just playing—"

"—Stefan! Don't you dare speak back to him!"

Stefan scowled and bowed his head as Caroline had previously. "Sorry, mother. I just do not see the problem in having fun."

"There is no problem in having fun. But, there is a time and a place for that Stefan. Now is not that time. We have matters to attend to and you and Caroline were to be speaking about the wedding."

"We did talk about it." Stefan told her. "We don't wish to be married yet."

"What did you just say!?"

Both children flinched when his mother yelled at them and they grew silent. The queen turned her attention to the king and she quickly explained her child's behavior. "He does not mean that, he is simply being stubborn. Do not listen to him sir. I promise you that Stefan does wish to marry your daughter."

"I hope so, for your sake." He told her angrily.

"He does." She insisted.

"We shall take our leave now." He paused and stared Stefan's mother in the eyes. "Take care of your son."

O

Authors Note:

Thank you all so much for all of the wonderful reviews! Because of them I decided to type up the next chapter quickly! I love hearing from you all! I have been in such a slump with writing lately and y'all have gotten me back to being excited and inspired for this fic thanks to all of your encouragement! I have a lot of ideas for this fic and the next chapter will have a time skip so that we can get to the main part of the story. Also the chapters will probably start getting longer soon. :)

Please do tell me what y'all think and I will update ASAP!

I love you all!

-Tracy Cook


	4. Chapter 4

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Four**

_**My mother groaned! My father wept,**_

_**Into the dangerous world I leapt.**__**  
**_

Seven long years had passed.

Seven long years only made bearable due to the young witch, Bonnie Bennett.

Damon still slept within the caves, trapped between the two worlds that he longed to be a part of. He was still tortured endlessly when he entered the human cities and ridiculed when he entered demon lands, but Bonnie was there with him through it all. She was always there to remind him of who he really was. To tell him that he was a beautiful person and that he should not listen to their jeers.

She had visited him each and every day since the first day that they met.

Never once had she missed a day.

It still baffled him that she thought of him as normal. Some days it would truly anger him and some days he was truly grateful for her words. They kept him grounded and from doing anything that he would regret. Bonnie Bennett had become the most important thing in the world to him. He cherished everything that she did for him and every word that she spoke to him.

But, as time passed those words were slowly beginning to be consumed by the hatred that he felt being an outcast. He feared that one day even they would not be enough to stop him from doing the unthinkable.

With her visits to him he had started to notice the changes in her appearance. She was aging alongside him and she was growing into a lovely young woman. Her hair was long and dark and framed her beautiful face, her green eyes stood out against her smooth caramel skin, and she had grown taller with age.

'_Not much taller though…' _Damon noted internally. He actually found it rather adorable that she was still so short. He wondered if she was going to grow much taller or if she would remain her current height. He thought about Bonnie a lot. She was almost always on his mind.

He on the other hand had grown remarkably. He was almost six feet tall and his build was far more muscular than it was when he was a ten year old boy. His chest was well-sculpted and he was extremely strong. He knew now that he was far more powerful than any human and most demons. For he had the ability to use human technology, but also had the magic and power of a demon. No one was stronger than him.

The power was intoxicating and it tempted him every day.

He held back though, for Bonnie.

Along with all of these changes in his appearance there were many others, his jawline and brow were more prominent than before and his eyes were an even brighter shade of blue. His wings extended many feet above his head now and they too were more powerful. Bonnie never praised him for his power though; she saw the beauty in the man behind the power. She saw the beauty in his soul.

Bonnie Bennett was perfection.

Damon no longer needed to go to the city to steal food, because every day when she arrived she brought him leftovers from her meals. She would float leafs for his entertainment and always bring a smile to his face. She made him feel special and she gave him a reason to be alive.

One day though, he realized that his attachment toward her was also problematic. Because with his attachment came a protective nature that he did not know he had. It was instinctual for him to long to kill humans and he fought that urge every single day. But, the day that Bonnie came to him and told him that some humans had caught her doing magic and had hurt her, that was the day that he fell off the deep end.

'_**Bonnie showed up at the lake with a basket full of food, like usual, but today was different. Damon immediately noticed the bruises that lined her eyes and covered her arms and his muscles tensed. She attempted to greet him like nothing had happened. He could not ignore the evidence that suggested otherwise though. His heart was racing and his stomach twisted in knots. He was going to kill whoever hurt the woman standing before him.**_

"_**Who did this to you?" He growled angrily.**_

_**Bonnie looked away from his angry eyes and focused on the ground. She knew what he was capable of and she did not wish to ignite the fire within him. "No one, Damon. It's nothing. I just slipped and fell."**_

"_**I don't believe you! Those are not the marks of someone who just slipped and fell, those are the marks of…" His brow furrowed and he squint his eyes at the marks. They looked like hands. Human hands. "Those are the marks of a human." Damon's hatred toward the human race was growing more and more every day and this was too much for him to handle. Some pathetic human scum had laid a hand on the most precious woman on the planet. **_

_**Knowing that he was scaring the young woman he took a breath and decided to take another approach in getting his information. Taking a step toward her he placed his hands upon her shoulders and stared deep into her eyes. **_

_**Speaking in a calm voice, he asked again. "Who did this to you, Bonnie?"**_

_**Her eyes filled with tears and she crumbled before him, falling into his arms and sobbing loudly against his chest. It shattered his heart. Hastily Damon wrapped his arms tightly around her making sure to be gentle enough not to crush her. Sometimes he did not realize his true strength. **_

_**For a few moments he held her body tightly against his and allowed her to cry. Allowed her to find comfort in the warmth of his body. **_

_**When she pulled away and stared up into his eyes once more, Damon lifted his fingers and stroked the dark hair from her eyes tucking it behind her ear. "Who did this to you? Please tell me. I need to know."**_

_**Bonnie told him the names of the humans who had hurt her. She told him that they had found out about her magic and they had started to throw her around, telling her that she was a disgrace and that they did not want her kind in their city. That they were going to tell the king and have her executed. **_

_**He could not allow that to happen.**_

_**They had to be silenced.**_

_**Damon's body started to shake and he walked past Bonnie toward the city. Never looking back at her as she cried out to him and told him to leave them alone. He knew that she could possibly hate him for doing what he was about to do. But he had to. **_

_**He stormed into the city walls and walked past the humans. They no longer jeered at him with confidence or attempted to attack him, now they cowered and called out to the king's guards. He did not care. He was a man on a mission and he planned to succeed. Walking through the alleyways he came up to the men who had attacked Bonnie. He already knew who they were; they had insulted both of them on many occasions.**_

_**They started to insult him and call him names but he did not care. Their words meant nothing to him anymore. They could not hurt him as much as he planned to hurt them. **_

_**Damon walked toward the men and gripped their throats tightly in his hands, lifting them above the ground and staring them down angrily. Spitting on them as he spoke. "Let this be a lesson to everyone." A crowd had gathered around them to watch the display. "No one is to harm Bonnie Bennett in any way or I shall come after you!" With that he gripped their necks tightly and watched as they were crushed beneath his hands, blood covering their chests and staining the stone beneath their feet.**_

'_**Thud, thud.' Their bodies fell to the ground and he turned around.**_

_**The people looked prepared to kill him, but he was not afraid of them. With blood covering his hands he extended his wings and flew away from the scene. None of them could stop him. He was too powerful.'**_

O

Stefan looked himself over in the mirror with a proud smile on his face. His hair was done perfectly and he was wearing one of his nicest suits. It always made him feel proud of himself when he looked dressed to impress. Still, there was something bothering him about the evening at hand.

Tonight was his seventeenth birthday and his mother decided that he and Caroline were finally ready to be married. They had spent the last seven years enjoying the friendship that they had built and finding happiness in playing around with each other. They had shared every secret and every moment together, and even he could not deny that she had grown into one of the most stunning women he had ever seen.

Despite all of these things they were still not prepared to get married to each other.

Neither of them felt that spark that you felt when you were with the person who meant everything to you. They wanted true love, passion, adventure, and happiness. And they only found a few of those things being together. You were supposed to find all of those things with the person that you married.

Tonight they were throwing a ball at the castle. Caroline's family was visiting. It was not only a celebration for his birthday, but also a celebration for their impending wedding.

Fixing his bowtie, he turned and started down the stairs toward the ballroom of the castle. He spotted Caroline immediately as he entered the room and he offered her a smile, extending his arm to her and politely asking her to dance. She did as she was asked and walked with him out toward the dance floor. They were dancing mostly to appease their parents who were watching them like hawks.

But, they had also grown to love the other's company.

Caroline cast her blue eyes up at him as she moved along with the music allowing him to lead the dance. "I am sorry, Stefan. I wasn't able to get my dad to change his mind about the wedding."

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, at this point there were worse fates that they could have. At least he loved and cared for the woman that he was to get married to. "No need to apologize. I too was incapable of getting my mother to budge on this whole ordeal."

She forced a sad smile and rested her head upon his chest. She wanted nothing more than to feel the connection with Stefan that her daddy wanted her to feel. She wanted to feel her heart race when he kissed her, feel her body quake whenever he touched her. "I wish that they would see how unreasonable they are being."

"There is still time before the wedding, perhaps they will."

Caroline laughed sarcastically. "Yeah right, I doubt that."

"You never know." He offered. Not even believing his own words. He knew that if after seven years of asking them not to force the marriage they still were, there was little hope that they could do something within the next month to stop it.

She glanced over at her father who was chatting idly with Stefan's mother and she shook her head. "I know."

"You never know." This time he spoke in a serious tone of voice. Like he had a plan. It gave Caroline an odd sense of hope that she had long forgotten and she snuggled against his chest and smiled brightly. Stefan always had a way of saying the thing that she needed to hear. He truly was one of the kindest people that she had ever met.

When the song came to an end the two of them walked off of the dance floor toward one of the tables covered in delicacies.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by someone with a beautiful British accent. "It is about time that I met Stefan's wife to be."

Caroline's ears perked up as she heard the voice and she quickly turned to see who it belonged to. Standing in front of them were two of Stefan's knights. She had seen them on many occasions, but she had never actually spoken to either of them. Rebekah and Kol Mikaelson. They were of the same royal blood and they both looked gorgeous.

Kol Mikaelson was known around the country as a knight with no heart. He took joy and pleasure in torturing and killing demons of all kinds. It was almost recreational for him. He had decapitated hundreds of the monsters single-handedly.

He was a masterpiece.

But, Rebekah was the one who caught Caroline's attention.

She too was a knight and she was most powerful. It was extremely uncommon for a woman to be knighted; in fact it was unheard of. But, Stefan had insisted upon it. He had heard that she was one of the best around the country and he wanted her to aid in defending their country. She had flowing blonde hair and striking blue eyes and her accented voice caused Caroline's heart to race. Her body, though concealed in heavy armor was obviously fit and perfect.

Stefan cared for Rebekah, but he also grew annoyed with her need to constantly undermine him with her sarcastic comments. She was not very good at taking orders.

Rebekah took a step toward Caroline and stared deep into her eyes with a devious smirk on her full lips. "Not quite what I had expected. She is cute I suppose, but nothing all that spectacular. Honestly, she looks sort of simple."

The words stung. Oddly enough Caroline still felt her heart flutter when the blonde Brit called her cute, despite the harsh words that had followed. She swallowed hard and cast her blue eyes down at Rebekah's lips then back up at her eyes. She could not find her voice.

"Rebekah, mind your manners." Stefan told her with a scowl on his lips. "She is of royal blood."

"As am I." Rebekah reminded.

He glared at her. "She is to be the Queen of our country, you are only a knight. Show some respect for her."

"I shall show her respect when she earns it. As of now there is no reason for me to believe that she would be a more suitable Queen than I myself." Rebekah offered one last annoyed glance toward the blonde princess and then turned and walked in the other direction. Kol following beside her.

Kol smiled over at his sister deviously and said, "That wasn't very nice, sister."

"As if you of all people can talk." She countered.

O

"I'm seventeen years old, mother! I think that I am plenty old enough to know what true love feels like! I do not feel that with Caroline!" Stefan insisted stubbornly. He was getting tired of having to explain to his mother that the love that he felt for Caroline was only a friendship. That he wanted to go out and find true love. That he wanted the spark that people talked about, the feelings that invoked a love novel, he wanted everything.

"You are too young to know what you want. You may think that you know what true love is, but you don't Stefan. You have never been in love. How do you know that the love that you feel for Caroline is not true love?"

"It isn't mother."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. I may not have ever been in love before, but that is only because you will not allow me to find the woman to give my heart to. You will not allow me to see other women. If I attempt to do so you have them punished for my attraction toward them. How am I to know what love is?"

"You will find out what love is with Caroline or you will never find out, Stefan. We have talked about this numerous times and those are your options."

"Basically I have no options then."

"If you wish to look at it that way then yes." His mother took a step toward him and stared deep into his eyes. "You will be marrying Caroline. You can choose to love her or choose not to love her, but it is your duty to your country to do this. This is the only way to prevent war from overtaking both of our kingdoms. So, you will do as you are told, boy."

"Good luck forcing me to marry anyone if I am nowhere to be found." Stefan spat back, turning and walking briskly out of the ballroom and down the stairs to the entrance of the castle. He was not going to be told by his parents what his destiny was. He was going to make his own path.

"Stefan, get back here!"

He did not listen.

He was already gone.

O

Authors Note:

I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! :) There will be more Bamon romance coming up in the later chapters. I apologize for the pace of the fic and I hope that it is not bothering y'all! Thank you guys so much for all of your wonderful reviews! Because of them I decided to once again add another chapter quickly! Y'all are so amazing! So, what do you think is going to happen with Stefan now? Where will he go? What do you think is going to happen with Damon and the power that he has found? I hope that y'all do not mind the Rebekoline. I am actually a lesbian and kind of wanted to include my favorite femslash pairing from TVD. :) Hopefully y'all like it too.

Thank you guys so much for all of your support! Please do send me some reviews and tell me what you think and if y'all want more and I promise to have the next chapter out ASAP!

Love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


	5. Chapter 5

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Five**

_**You Left Me All Alone To Die.**_

_**Somehow I Taught Myself To Fly.**__**  
**_

Every day his hatred for the human race was growing.

Damon could handle the bruises that the humans inflicted to his ego, but he could not handle the bruises that they had inflicted on Bonnie's skin. At night he dreamt about the way that she had looked when she showed up at the lake. The way that her eyes were full of vulnerability and tears threatened to escape them. The way that her body was shaking and her skin was discolored where they had hurt her.

Those images haunted him.

Time had passed and the wounds had healed. Yet, his hatred had not. It continued to grow until it felt as though it would consume him entirely.

He clenched his jaw and traced his claws along the dirt, watching the tracks that they left behind. His mind had been running crazy with ideas of how he could build an army in order to take down the humans. In order to slaughter every last one of them and put an end to their threat against demons and magical beings.

Damon knew that there was only one way to earn the respect of his fellow demons. To prove that he was not a worthless half-breed that was incapable of inflicting pain. He would have to fight in the arena and show their leader that he could be a worthy asset in the battle against the humans. Once he was in a position of power, then he could take control of the demon race and start building his army. Then he could kill every last human who ever tormented him or Bonnie. He could build a new world with the power that he possessed. A world of peace.

"You can't go to the demon lands, Damon!" Bonnie protested. The last time that he had ventured into their lands they had nearly destroyed him. She did not want him to die, and she did not think that he needed to prove his worth.

"This is the only way that I can prove myself worthy to them. The only way that they will accept me as a true demon." He cast his eyes away from hers. She was young, but she had a way of making him realize that he was making mistakes.

"You aren't a true demon. You aren't like them."

Damon turned and stared down into her eyes angrily. "What do you mean by that? I am just as powerful as any of them."

"It's not that I think you aren't powerful, it's that I know you have a kind soul. You do not want to prove yourself by killing them or killing the humans. You know that it's wrong."

"The humans have been terrible to us! Every last one of them deserves to die, Bonnie! They are sick creatures who pretend to show love and compassion to each other while secretly hating and destroying the ones that they claim to cherish."

"I'm a human." Bonnie's words once again served to make him stop and think.

It was true. Bonnie Bennett was a human. She had magical powers, but she was still just a human. And she was one of the most wonderful people that Damon had ever met. He loved her more than he loved anyone else. So, who was to say that there weren't other humans who were just as compassionate and loving as she was?

"You've said it yourself, you are different than them. They tried to kill you Bonnie. I can't just let them get away with that." Damon spoke in a deep and assertive tone of voice. He had already set his mind to his plan and he did not intend to back down, no matter what she said to him. No matter how much faith she had in him.

"You are better than—"

"—I know that you think that I am better than this, better than them. But, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No." Damon raised his brows and forced a sarcastic grin onto his lips. "I'm not."

With that he turned and started to walk away from Bonnie, never turning back to look at her. He knew that if he looked back and saw the disappointment written across her face then he would second guess his decisions. That he would feel like a terrible person for doing something that Bonnie disapproved of. So, he just kept walking.

O

Caroline had watched Stefan and his mother arguing before he walked out of the castle. She was wearing a proud smile on her lips as she sipped on her wine. He was one of the bravest men that she knew. Always standing up for what he wanted in life and who he was. Often she found herself wishing that she could do the same with her daddy. But, he made her feel so worthless whenever she attempted to, that she always gave up and let him have his way.

It was easier that way.

"Hello there, gorgeous."

Caroline's eyes widened as she felt a hand against her hip holding her in place, and rough lips against her ear. The voice belonged to an older man and there was alcohol on his breath. Quickly she turned around and attempted to pull away from him, but the man pressed her up against the wall smirking down at her playfully. She did not recognize him. He was a complete stranger and he was clearly inebriated.

Her heart was racing and terror was written across her face. "Get off of me!" She shouted angrily, pushing him away from her.

He did not stop. Instead he pressed harder against her and held her in place. "Oh come on, I just wanna have a little fun."

Caroline knew that any minute now someone would notice and they would possibly kill the man standing in front of her. "You should back the fuck off or I swear to you I will have your head on a platter."

"Is that a threat?" He slurred playfully, reaching up and running his fingers through her blonde curls. "I don't think you're in any position ta be threatening me, young lady."

"I am of royal blood and I guarantee that I will follow through with my threats if you do not stop."

The man halted his movements abruptly, his eyes widening in shock and a look of fear covering his face. For a moment Caroline wondered if her threat had been the cause of his random change in attitude. Soon she realized that it had not been her words that had scared the man; it had been the sword that was digging into the back of his neck.

"I suggest that you do as she says." An accented voice spoke slowly and powerfully.

Caroline immediately recognized it and caught sight of the knight who had saved her. She felt a mix of strange emotions. She was sort of angry that Rebekah had been the one to save her, because she had made fun of her and said that she was not suited to be the queen, but she also felt her heart speed up excitedly. _'Rebekah just saved me… She must not entirely hate me. No, wait, don't be silly Caroline, that's her job! She is supposed to protect you. She didn't do it because she cares about you!'_

The man still did not move as Rebekah leant forward and spoke against his ear. "If you wish to keep your bloody head intact that is." His breathing was heavy and his hands were hanging in the air as he waited for her to remove the blade. Instead of removing it, she dug the tip of the blade deeper into the skin of his neck causing him to flinch. "Understood?"

"Understood." He stated quickly.

"Good. Now clear off." Rebekah removed the blade from his neck and smiled smugly as he ran off in the other direction. Perhaps it was sick, but she found pleasure in terrifying people. It was fun to make them squirm.

Caroline was not one to say thank you to many people. Still, she knew that she owed Rebekah her gratitude, and she could not deny that the strange admiration toward the beautiful knight was slowly transforming into something more. She had never felt anything quite like it. Taking a step toward her she offered her a smile.

"Thanks, Rebekah."

"No need to thank me. I was merely doing my job." She pursed her full lips as she looked the other blonde over.

'_See, she was only doing her job. Otherwise she wouldn't care at all. It isn't because she wants to protect you. She would have done the same for any other member of the royal family.'_

"Right. Well, still." Caroline paused and caught her eyes with her own. "Thanks."

O

Stefan had been walking around the city for hours. He could not get what his mother had said off of his mind. She always had a way of telling him who he needed to be and making him believe that it was the best option. He did not want to believe her any longer. He needed to trust in his own intuition and know that he was making the right decisions for the sake of his happiness.

He knew that marrying Caroline was the best choice for the country, but the best choice for him was to wait and find the girl that made his heart race and butterflies fill his stomach.

'_She's got to be out there…' _He told himself.

Every night he would stare out of the castle window and he would spot the brightest star in the sky. It was told that when you made a wish upon such a star then that wish would come true. So every night he did make a wish. He wished for a sign to show him to the woman who would love him, the woman who he would love for all eternity.

Casting his eyes to the sky he spotted the brightest star and a smile crept onto his lips as he made the same wish that he always made.

'_I wish for a sign to show me the love of my—'_

His thoughts were interrupted as he ran directly into a young woman who was standing in the street. She fell to the ground and Stefan hastily ran toward her and extended his hand to help her to her feet.

"I apologize, Miss. I did not mean to run into you."

When she stood to her feet Stefan caught sight of the young woman and his breath caught in his throat. She had long dark hair and deep brown eyes hidden behind long lashes. Her skin was a soft mocha color and her smile was genuine. He was mesmerized by her beauty. She was no princess, it appeared that she was just a simple woman selling bread on the street, but she was more than that.

He could already tell.

His wishes were coming true.

The girl hesitated for a moment getting lost in his beautiful eyes. She knew that he was Stefan Salvatore the soon to be king of the country. She was honestly shocked that he had stopped to help her at all. Most people of royal blood would have walked right over her.

"I'm fine, no worries." She laughed shyly under her breath and pulled her hand away from his.

Stefan watched as she moved to return to her stand in the street. He did not wish for the conversation to be over, so he did the only thing that he could think to do. "How much for a loaf?"

"Huh?" She wondered awkwardly. No one from the palace had ever bought bread from her. They had the best in the land. Her family's small stand was not good enough for them. "Why do you ask?"

"I wish to buy a few loafs from you." He flashed her a charming smile and pulled out a small pouch from his pocket that contained his gold. "How much for a loaf?"

"Two silver."

"I shall take two loafs." Stefan said, setting down a gold piece on the stand. It was more than the bread was worth, but he wanted to help her out. It was obvious that the young woman and her family were struggling to stay in business and put a roof over their heads. He knew that it was ridiculous, but the thought of her living out on the streets and possibly dying worried him to no end. He wanted to make her happy.

"I do not have any change." She told him, eying the money warily.

"I did not ask for change."

She caught his eyes curiously for a moment, searching them for sincerity. Then she reached out and took the gold piece from the stand blushing softly as her fingers brushed against his. Quickly she pulled her hand away from his and handed him two loafs of bread.

"Thank you—" Stefan paused and she knew that he was waiting for her to give him her name.

"Elena."

'_Elena… what a lovely name…' _

"Thank you, Elena."

"You are most welcome, sire."

He felt his stomach twist in knots when she announced his authority. "You can call me Stefan."

Elena smiled and nodded and Stefan's heart leapt at the sight. He had never felt anything like it before. His heart was racing loudly in his ears, his palms were sweaty, and his body felt like it was on fire. He just wanted to tell her how he felt on the spot, but he did not dare.

Suddenly, the romance was cut short as one of the guards ran up to the two of them and shouted loudly. "You need to get back to the castle immediately, sire! Your parents are in danger! The demons have infiltrated our kingdom and they are slaughtering everyone!"

Stefan gave Elena a look that said that he needed to go and she nodded her understanding before watching him run off toward the castle. She held the gold coin in her hand against her chest as she watched him leave. Praying that he would be safe and that she would get the opportunity to see him once again. She knew that she could never be with him. He was royalty and she was a poor townsperson. Still, she wished to see him again.

O

Damon never felt like he fit in when he traveled to the demon lands. Currently, he was standing in line to battle in the arena and he stood out like a sore thumb. All of the other demons had scales that covered their entire bodies, or fur, and claws, he had some of those characteristics, but he still had many human characteristics as well.

They made fun of him.

None of the other demons believed him to be truly powerful like they were. None of them saw him as more than a pathetic human pretending to be a demon.

He hated that they saw him that way and he planned to show them otherwise today. When he battled in the arena they would see his true strength. Their leader, Niklaus would open his eyes to the power that he held and he would personally invite him to join in his battle against the humans.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A feminine voice asked from behind him.

Damon's pointed ears perked up and he turned to see who was talking to him. Standing in front of him was one of Niklaus' minions. She was well known throughout the lands as Katherine. Her hair was long and dark and her eyes were a deep black. Her skin was covered in green scales and she had a long tail and wings that extended out of her back. She looked powerful, but he knew that he could take her on.

He took a step toward her and his lips twisted up into a demented smile. "I'm here to show Niklaus just how powerful I can be."

Katherine laughed at him and he furrowed his brow in frustration. Everyone always laughed at him when he said such things. She moved toward him and pressed a clawed hand against his exposed chest. "Isn't that cute? You actually think that you, a half-breed, could possibly beat an actual demon in a battle?"

"No." He grinned. "I know that I can beat an "actual" demon in battle." His voice held playful sarcasm and confidence. She found it irritating.

Suddenly two of Katherine's minions flew toward him and grabbed onto his arms dragging him to the ground and pinning him in place. She smirked down at him and raised a brow. "You are no match for a demon, Damon. You may as well go home before you embarrass yourself or get killed. We don't have time to waste on you and neither does Niklaus. He will never accept you into his army. No one will ever accept you."

Damon knew that it wasn't true. There was one person who had always accepted him for who he was. Bonnie. She knew that he was capable of great things and he planned to show Niklaus, and Katherine, and everyone else that he would be the one to bring the demons victory over the humans. He would be the one to put an end to their fears.

His clear blue eyes shimmered with confidence and he threw the demons that held him down across the way. They slammed into the concrete walls on each side of him and they were knocked unconscious. Katherine's eyes widened in shock and she actually looked scared for a minute. But, only a minute.

Standing to his feet, Damon stretched out his muscles and stared her deep in the eyes. "I will be fighting in that arena and I will prove myself worthy to join his army." He cocked his head to the side and laughed a little. "Oh, and Katherine."

"Yeah?"

"If you stand in my way." He leant forward so that his nose was nearly touching hers as he stared into black depths. "I. Will. Kill you."

O

Author's Note:

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Y'all keep me adding chapters quickly when you send me so much love! :) I hope that y'all are still enjoying this fic! For the people who have asked I will say Stefan will be meeting Bonnie and they will become close friends, Bamon romance will be blossoming after the next time skip (so that they are age appropriate) and Kennett will also happen at some point in this fic. :) But Bamon will be endgame of course.

Please tell me what y'all think of the chapter. Who is your favorite pairing so far? What do you think is going to happen next? What would y'all like to see happen!?

I love hearing from you guys and you keep me writing so please leave me some love!

Thank you all! I love you guys. :)

-Tracy Cook


	6. Chapter 6

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Six**

_**What Is Victory,**_

_**If I Do Not Have You At My Side?**_

His fingers were long and the nails at the end were sharp and extended nearly two inches in length. His eyes were blood red and in his mouth were sharp fangs. The hair that covered the top of his head was curly and covered his pointed ears, and his skin was covered in dark blue scales. He had his wings tucked tightly behind his back and his lizard-like legs crossed as he sat in his throne.

Every demon from every land knew his name.

They feared him. They looked up to him. They envied him.

His name was Niklaus.

He was the most powerful demon to ever walk the earth. He had killed thousands of humans; the blood of men, women, and children covered his hands. His teeth were dulled by the bones that he had gnawed through. Every demon wished to be a part of his army, a part of the uprising against the human race. His army consisted of only those whom which he deemed worthy. And proving yourself to Niklaus was a difficult task.

The leader's lips quirked up into a devious grin and he laughed loudly as he witnessed the "demon" that entered his arena. Niklaus had heard about the young mixed-breed who claimed to be as strong as a demon, but he never thought that he would actually attempt to show his strength.

Damon clenched his fists tightly and glared at the demon who was laughing at him. He hated when people doubted his abilities and made fun of him. It made his blood rush through his veins and a need to prove his power to rise.

Honestly, he hated everyone.

'_Everyone except for Bonnie…'_

"You have got to be kidding!" He spoke with a British accent that shocked Damon. He had never heard their leader speak and he had expected him to have a more intimidating voice. With the accent he actually sounded quite charming. "You actually expect me to allow you to fight in the arena!? You aren't even a true demon!"

Damon cocked his head to the side and spoke angrily. "I am a true demon. And I want the chance to join your little "army" just like everyone else." He spoke the word army with sarcasm and annoyance. He knew that he could kill anyone in his army.

"You could never prove yourself worthy of being a part of my army." Niklaus spoke slowly in a sing song voice, standing to clawed feet and pacing in front of his throne. "But, I suppose that you could prove to be rather entertaining."

The half-breed looked confused and furious.

Niklaus was acting like what he was saying was ridiculous, like it was all just a game to him.

"I shall allow you to battle in the arena, Damon." He said with another laugh. Damon felt his heart leap with excitement at the news. Their leader was actually going to allow him to fight for his right to join his army. "And, if you are somehow able to defeat my most powerful warriors in battle then I will consider allowing you to join." Niklaus paused and turned to look at him. "If not, then I shall take great pleasure in watching them pummel you to death before my very eyes."

He knew that their leader was taunting him and he could tell by his tone of voice that he did not think that he would win the match. But, he was prepared to take on whatever warrior, no matter how powerful.

"I accept your challenge."

"As if you had a choice."

Niklaus called upon his most powerful warriors.

There were three of them that entered the arena and Damon could already tell that it was not going to be a fair fight. They were bigger than him and probably faster than him, and he was outnumbered. But, he did not back down. His hatred toward the humans who had hurt Bonnie fueled a fire inside of him that would not be extinguished by fear.

All at once the three demons flew toward him cornering him against the wall of the arena and staring him down with hungry eyes and exposed fangs. He fell to the ground, shocked by the suddenness of their attack. His heart started to race as blue eyes stared up at three sets of glowing red and he felt his stomach twist in knots. It was like he was once again a child being picked on by the demons, being beaten and ridiculed for being different.

Damon could not force his body to move. He could not find the willpower to utter the words of an incantation. He could not remember how to speak and they were closing in on him.

They were going to rip his body to pieces and gorge themselves on his flesh and bones.

In the audience a set of glimmering green eyes fixated on the scene at hand. They were filled with worry and concern as Damon was trapped against the wall by the demons. Bonnie was hidden within the crowd of demons, cloaked to hide her humanity, watching as the only friend she had was attacked viciously. It terrified her. Her heart was hammering away loudly in her chest, threatening to break through her ribcage. Sweat formed on her brow and her lips twisted into a scowl as one of the demons slashed his claws through Damon's chest.

The crowd was cheering and laughing at his pain. They did not care if he died.

There were deep gaping wounds where the claws dug into the skin and blood was pouring from his chest. Bonnie had never seen so much blood in her life and without thinking she had engulfed all three demons in flames.

She knew that Damon would scold her for aiding him in battle at a later time. He would tell her that she was too young and it was too dangerous for her to follow him into demon lands, and that he had wanted to fight his own battles. But, she did not care if he was upset with her. Damon was in trouble and she wanted to protect him.

She would always protect him.

O

Howls could be heard throughout the palace ballroom as wolf-like creatures ran throughout the castle walls. Their speed was unheard of and their teeth were long and sharp. They ran on all fours just as dogs did, but there was something about them that set them apart. These wolves could stand on their hind legs and they were twice the size of normal wolves, along with this their saliva had the ability to paralyze you.

They were demons and they were there to kill the royal family.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Kol laughed maniacally as he shoved his sword inside the mouth of one of the beasts, piercing through the back of its skull. His goal in life was to mutilate and kill all of demon kind and he took pleasure in watching them crumble beneath him.

The wolf did not even get the chance to whimper as his legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the ground, dead.

Kol pulled his sword from the wolf's head and laughed some more as its blood splashed against his face, covering his skin in speckles of red. His lips twisted up playfully and he did a little victory dance before turning quickly on his heels and slicing his sword through one of their necks, cutting its head from its shoulders.

"Did you see that, Bekah?!" Kol asked with a smug smile as he wiped the blood from his face and fixed his hair.

"I did, brother." Rebekah was standing in front of Caroline and fending off the wolves as they attacked. With a devious smirk she wielded her sword skillfully and sliced through the legs of one of the demons before piercing it directly through the chest and puncturing the heart. It killed the dog on the spot. She then fixed her hair and turned to look back at Kol with a grin, "And quite honestly, I'm not all too impressed."

"Oh don't be jealous. I'm sure someday you will be as talented as I in the art of killing demons." He laughed and lifted his sword in order to pierce the heart of another wolf as it jumped at him from behind. He never even turned to look at the demon, his eyes always fixated on his little sister.

Caroline's eyes widened as she stared past the proud siblings toward her parents. They were surrounded by the wolf demons and they were fighting for their lives. But, they were outnumbered two to eight and the wolves were getting closer to them.

"Mom! Dad!" She shouted with horror in her eyes as the demons swarmed them and started to tear chunks of their skin from their bones. Devouring her parents before her very eyes, gnawing away at their bones as they screamed out in pain. Caroline's heart stopped beating and she ran past Rebekah toward them. She no longer cared if she died; she no longer wanted to be protected. She needed to save them. She needed to do something.

Kol had started to kill the demons who were attacking her parents, but she needed to do something more. Caroline's eyes were full of tears that spilled down her cheeks and over her neck, her body was shaking with adrenalin and her commonsense was gone.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Her voice came out a whimpering cry.

Before she could reach the two of them she was stopped by strong hands holding onto her arms and forcing her away from the wolves. Caroline thrashed around violently, pushing her captor away from her to the best of her ability. But, the strong hands held on tightly.

"Let me go!"

"No." Rebekah told her sternly. "I am not going to allow you to throw yourself into a pack of ravenous demons, Caroline."

"I have to save them! I have to—I have to save them!" She wheezed. Her nose running down her face and her eyes overflowing with sorrow as she thrashed around some more. "I have to save them!"

Rebekah shook Caroline's shoulders a little forcefully and willed her to stop crying and pay attention to her. When the other blonde stared into her eyes she spoke slowly. "There are more of those creatures around, so I need you to concentrate. You are going to die—"

"—I don't care if I die!"

"—don't be stupid, Caroline! Your kingdom needs you to stay strong and concentrate." She shook her a little harder this time hoping to knock some sense into her. Rebekah knew that it would kill her to lose anyone in her family, so she understood that Caroline was hurting, but she also understood that she could not allow her to risk her life and the future of their kingdom.

"I can't—I—I can't." She cried.

The blonde Brit sighed and ran a hand through her blonde curls, cupping the side of her face and forcing her to stare into her eyes. "I know that you are feeling immense pain at the moment, and I apologize for that, but we must get you to safety."

Caroline did not respond, so Rebekah asked "Understood?"

She nodded her understanding.

"Good, now come with me." Rebekah pulled her toward the back entrance of the castle, only turning to look at her brother. She hoped that he would be safe in battle. "Take care of the rest of them?"

"With pleasure." He grinned.

O

Stefan's lips parted and his eyes widened as he stared at the scene in the ballroom of his palace. His sword slipping from his fingers and clamoring against the ground as he watched the wreckage before him, as he watched everything that he loved burn to the ground. His parents were lying in the center of the ballroom, their chests ripped clean open and their ribcages exposed for the world to see.

Remnants of Caroline's parents were scattered around the room. But, she was nowhere to be found.

His eyes filled with tears that he attempted to push back. He could not risk being seen crying. He could not risk showing his weakness. Because, now that his parents were dead he would be the king and he had to show that he was powerful. That he was well-suited to protect their country, no matter the obstacle.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the last wolf demon escape from Kol's violent attacks and stumble out of the castle. Its claws were drenched in the blood of his people, the blood of his parents and everyone that he loved. Stefan felt the tears well up in his eyes again and the need to cry to arise. He wanted nothing more than to curl up on the ground in a ball with his knees to his chest and just cry until he could no longer feel anything.

Instead, he transferred all of the pain that he felt into anger and he let out a scream of frustration gripping his sword and running toward the demon.

It was too late though, the demon was already gone.

He would have chased the wolf all night if it was not for Kol stopping him and holding onto his shoulders. His eyes connected with the knights and he could see compassion behind them. It was uncommon to see such things from the British man. He was usually so heartless. Now he looked sympathetic and understanding. Family was important to Kol.

"Stefan, I want to kill the bloody bastards as much as you do, but you cannot just chase them into the forests. That's a suicide mission."

"I—they killed my parents, Caroline's parents! I can't just let them get away with this!" His body was shaking with rage. He wanted to find every last beast and slaughter them with his bare hands.

"I agree." Kol said with a grin. "Trust me, we will slaughter those beasts for all the damage they have caused, but you cannot go about doing so alone. We need a king to take over the throne and we need him to be alive. Besides…" He paused and Stefan furrowed his brow at him, wondering what he was going to say. "Those demons were not your typical demons…"

"What do you mean?"

"I witnessed one of them transform into a human before running out of here. I believe that they are shape shifters. And I have my assumptions that the whole lot of them have been living in town right beneath our noses."

"You mean…"

"I mean they can be anywhere."

Stefan did not know how to process the new information. Until now they had come across many demons that had humanistic traits, but never a type of demon who could actually transform between demon and human. That meant that they were the most dangerous type of demon. They could literally be anywhere. In town, in the kingdom, in his circle of closest friends. Hell, they could be standing right in front of him.

"It will be a challenge, but I will not rest until I find every last wolf demon and slaughter them all." He spoke with such conviction. He was a man on a mission and he was going to avenge his parents' deaths. "I will avenge my parents." Stefan once again caught Kol's eyes and he asked, "Are you with me?"

"I will follow you into the depths of hell, King Stefan."

"Very well, rally up the troops. We leave at dawn."

O

Flames reflected in Damon's eyes as he watched the demons' skin burn off of their bones. His long ears twitched as he heard the crowd go wild in the stands and his heart leapt. He knew that the magic did not belong to him. He did not possess powerful enough magic. That magic could only belong to one person, the young Bennett witch who was always saving his life.

He did not get a moment to really worry about the thought of Bonnie standing in a coliseum full of demons who would torture her if they found her. Not moments after they were engulfed in flames, the demons had recovered and they were coming after him again. Only this time the audience was on his side. They were cheering his name and it gave him the power and confidence to fight back. Even if it was not his magic they were cheering for, it made him proud.

Damon forced himself to his clawed feet and glared at the demons, baring his fangs. "Is that all you got?" He waggled his brow playfully despite the blood that was rolling down his chest.

The demons growled at him and started to charge him and he quickly flew up into the sky and spun around in a circle, diving down and digging his claws into one of their necks. Once they were wedged deep inside of his skin Damon lifted him up into the air and tore his head from his shoulders. Watching as his body fell to the ground with a thud and his blood rained down on the other demons.

He lifted the decapitated head and smiled dementedly as the crowds cheered. He got some sort of sick pleasure killing for fun. It made him feel like a true demon for once in his life.

Suddenly, the other demons flew up into the air grabbing him by the legs and attempting to rip his body in half. The pain was intense and he groaned out loudly batting his wings in a mad attempt to get away from the two of them. Niklaus was grinning ear to ear as he watched the scales begin to peel away and crack between his legs. He knew that his army was strong enough to rip his body to pieces.

They could even eat the human parts as a reward.

Once again the demons combusted in flames and it gave Damon a chance to kick them off of his legs, digging his sharp clawed toes into their eyes as he did so. Instantly piercing their brains and killing them both.

As they fell to the coliseum floor Niklaus watched with an open mouth and awe written across his features. He had never seen a demon with such powers and strength, with such magic. Some had magic, but never so much control. He wondered if his human half was warlock. The thought intrigued him. _'He could prove to be quite useful after all…'_

Damon flapped his heavy wings causing the stands to shake as he landed before their leader. He had a smug look on his face because he could tell that he had impressed Niklaus. He took a few steps toward the throne and his lips quirked up deviously. "Let me join you."

Niklaus still looked uncertain, but he was considering it.

"I have proven myself worthy. You said that if I could kill your most powerful warriors then you would let me join your army." Damon paused and glanced over at the pile of mutilated bodies and the blood covered coliseum. "I don't know what you think, but they look pretty dead to me." His voice was saturated in the pride that he felt.

"Well, I am a man of my word." Niklaus lifted his fingers to his chin and squinted his eyes at the half-breed, looking him over once more. "So, I suppose that I have no choice but to allow you to join my army."

Damon could feel his excitement rising. All of his life, all that he had ever wanted was to be a part of something, to feel like he had a purpose and belonged. And all of his life he had felt that he were more demon than human. He was finally being allowed the opportunity to fight for his kind.

"First I must ask, all things considering." Niklaus interrupted his triumphant thoughts and Damon looked at him with curious eyes.

"What?"

"Are you one hundred percent dedicated to the demons and their fight against humanity? Obviously I have reason to believe that you could be conflicted on the matter considering that you are half human."

"I would never betray the demons. You have my word."

"Then you are officially the newest member of my army. Welcome aboard, Damon." He grinned.

"You won't regret this."

O

Bonnie watched from the darkness of the alleyway as Damon exited the arena. She had been waiting for him to come out and talk to her. She knew that he was going to be upset with what she had done for him, but she had no choice. She felt this need to save people, and she felt especially drawn to saving him.

Her green eyes scanned his body and she felt her heart drop. Damon's lip was busted open and bruises covered the side of his face. His chest was still bleeding where the flesh had been ripped open, and his wings were tattered.

Blue eyes connected with hers and she offered him a small smile.

He did not smile back. He looked furious as he walked toward her.

Bonnie knew that he was not mad at her for being there, but he was mad at her for risking her own life in order to save his. He told her to never put herself in danger for him. Damon did not see his true worth. He did not think that he deserved her compassion and love no matter how many years she had dedicated to showing him that he did.

"You shouldn't be here, Bonnie." The half-breed whispered harshly under his breath.

"You would have died if I wasn't." She stated in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"Don't you understand?" Damon questioned. "I don't care if I die. The only thing that I care about, the only person that I could not bear losing is you. And you are not safe in the demon lands, if anyone would have found you, you would have been killed."

"You may not care if you die, Damon, but I do care. You can't continue to be so reckless. I don't want to lose you." Bonnie's voice broke and tears filled her eyes as she placed a hand over the cuts in his chest. The blood covered the tips of her fingers and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She hated that Damon was always throwing himself into risky situations, situations that could and ultimately would be the death of him.

She closed her eyes and muttered an incantation under her breath, smiling as the flesh healed beneath her fingertips.

Her magical abilities shocked Damon every day. It was like they just continued to advance in ways that he had never thought possible. And she was only twelve years old. He wondered what her powers would be like when she was older.

"You need to go home."

"No. I need to stay and protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me." Damon lifted a hand to grip onto Bonnie's, pulling it away from his chest and forcing her to stop touching him. "I need you to be alive and safe."

"But—"

"—Go home, Bonnie."

O

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Thank you all again for your wonderful reviews! They mean the world to me. :) I'm sorry that I have not updated lately and I apologize that I haven't been on Tumblr, my internet has been turned off for the next few weeks, but I will still attempt to update frequently! I didn't get as many reviews for the last chapter and I am a bit worried that people are losing interest in the story. I am sorry for the slow build up, but the next chapter will have the final time skip and get into the romance and smut and all that fun stuff. ;) I hope that y'all are still enjoying it and please do send me some reviews telling me what you think of the chapter.

What do y'all predict is going to happen next? :) I love hearing your opinions, and if you have anything else that you want in the story feel free to ask!

Thank you all for reading! Love you all!


	7. Chapter 7

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Seven**

_**As The Years Fade, **_

_**My Feelings For You Never Do…**_

Seven years had passed.

Seven long dark years of metamorphosis.

Bonnie Bennett was now nineteen years old and as she aged her views on things had changed drastically. She was starting to find herself attracted to boys and the idea of romance, she was realizing that she had to be smart about using her magic as to not get killed, and most importantly she was recognizing the difference between friendship, attraction, and love.

Friendship was an important bond that you shared with someone. One where you told them your secrets and you trusted and cared for them, one where you always protected them. Attraction could be toward anyone, male or female, friend or stranger, but it did not necessarily mean anything more than being drawn physically to the other person. And love was a combination of both friendship and attraction. To be in a relationship with someone required an equal balance. You had to crave spending time with them as much as you craved being touched by them.

It had taken her seven years to really piece together the puzzle, but now she was slowly realizing that she felt that way about someone close to her. She felt that craving for her best friend, Damon.

Over the years he had grown into an attractive young man. His hair was shorter than when he was a child, yet still wild and unruly. His torso was muscular and well built, and his eyes were as always, a shimmering blue that took her breath away. Bonnie had felt the sudden urge to lean up and kiss him on many occasions, but she never did. She was too scared, too shy. She did not want to risk the chance of him turning her down and reminding her that they were only friends. It would break her heart if Damon told her that he only thought of her as a little sister or best friend.

Still, she found it difficult to believe that a friendship was all that he wanted from her.

Damon had never dated anyone else. He had slept around with quite a few women, but he had never settled down with anyone or proclaimed his love to them. And when he was with her he was different than when he was with the other women.

Despite him living in the demon lands and Bonnie living in the human lands, they still met on a daily basis between the two lands at their lake. It had become a special tradition. A tradition that kept them both grounded and happy. Some days they would talk and laugh and skip rocks in the lake, other days they would simply lay in each other's arms and watch the sunset in comfortable silence.

But, at the end of the day they would always part ways and that was when Bonnie would follow Damon. She knew that he would hate her if he ever found out. She just had to know what he was up to. She just had to know if he was still the same man that she had once loved dearly.

Ever since he had joined the demon army, he had transformed into a man that Bonnie hardly recognized.

A man that was more of a monster than anything else.

He had changed in ways that she did not approve of. Nearly every day he partook in killing and torturing innocent humans, even eating their flesh on occasion. The first time that the witch had witnessed Damon rip into a human's chest and eat his beating heart, she knew that he was gone to the world. She wanted to believe that it was only to impress the other demons, to prove himself a true demon, like he claimed. But, the smile that stretched from one ear to the other and lips painted red by human blood, told a different story.

Sometimes he would even sniff along her neck and she could tell that he was wondering what it would be like to bite into her flesh. Damon craved the taste of human flesh. He enjoyed the way that their bones crunched beneath his teeth. He took pleasure in hearing them cry out in pain as their blood covered his face.

It terrified her.

It made her doubt that he was still a good person.

It made her question her friendship with him.

The one thing that had always separated Damon from the other demons in her mind had been his conscience. His need to do right by people, his insistence not to feed on humans or kill innocents. But, every day Bonnie watched as his conscience faded and his good nature corroded into something dark and evil.

Sometimes she challenged herself.

She attempted to stare into his eyes and find that flicker of goodness shimmering in their oceanic depths. To find the morality that drew her to him in the first place. To this day she still found it in his eyes and that was why she had not given up hope on him. That was why she still believed that he would be a good man. No matter what terrible things he did, there was still something good within his heart.

That was the part of Damon that Bonnie loved.

Damon's lips twisted up into a half smile as he reached down and stroked Bonnie's hair from her face. He found himself staring at her in awe. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever met. For she was not only lovely on the outside, but also on the inside. She had one of the purest hearts that he had ever encountered.

It was in these moments where he was just laying with Bonnie, that he felt at his happiest and proudest.

Yes, it gave him pride to rip the heads from humans and put them up on sticks around the demon lands. It made him feel powerful when Niklaus was proud of him for measuring up to demon standards. But, none of that would matter to him if he did not have Bonnie in his life, if he could no longer hold her tightly in his arms and watch the sunset. He felt safe when she was wrapped up in him.

She was his home.

At times when he was holding her, Damon started to feel uncomfortable because he knew that he was starting to feel attraction toward her. The way that her body melted into his, the way that it felt against his. So soft and warm. He found himself lost in the comfort and familiarity of her body, yet excited by the changes that age had brought.

His mind was constantly at war with itself.

One half tempting him to give in and indulge in everything that he wanted with Bonnie, and the other reminding him that they were just friends and it would probably push her away and make her upset with him.

The temptation was starting to win the war.

O

_**Death.**_

_**What an interesting concept. **_

_**One minute a person can mean so much to you. Their smile brightens your day, their laughter makes you laugh, their words make you feel alive, and then the next minute all that is left is a gaping hole in your heart where they used to reside and memories. Memories that break your heart. You regret the sad moments that you shared with them, the fights, the last minutes of their life, and the happy moments make you cry because you miss what they were.**_

_**At first it's like you just don't believe it. You just wake the day after they are gone and you imagine that they will be there with you eating breakfast, loving you. That their entire death was a hoax. That it is all a lie.**_

_**Then you see the empty chair and you realize that it is reality. It hits you like a train and you feel sick to your stomach, you feel empty and broken. Your body feels frail and you don't want to move.**_

_**As the days pass things gradually heal. **_

_**You forget who they were. **_

_**But, that only makes you all the more bitter and angry and vengeful. The rage builds and builds inside of you until you can no longer take it. **_

_**It consumes you entirely. **_

_**-Stefan Salvatore**_

"Writing again?"

Stefan closed his journal and glanced up at Caroline. It embarrassed him how long it had taken him to get over his parents' deaths. He wrote about it daily and he still sought vengeance on the wolf demons. Honestly, he was not over it. He did not understand how the beautiful blonde standing before him was. Many times he wondered if she internalized a lot of her sorrow and put on a happy face just to make him feel better.

"Yeah." He glanced up at the clock and realized that it was getting late. They were supposed to visit their parents' graves that evening. "I apologize. I must have lost track of time."

Caroline offered him a small smile and reached out to take his hand, wrapping her arm in his and leading the way to the courtyard. They had decided to bury their parents beneath the statues of them in the beautiful enclosure. That way the entire city could remember them for the wonderful people that they were.

Often the blonde found herself putting her own grief on the backburner when she was around Stefan. She just wanted to see him happy and smiling again, like he did when they were kids. She missed his handsome grin.

As they reached the statues that rested upon their parents' graves, they stopped and stared up at them in silence.

This had become a weekly ritual for the last seven years.

They would both stand before their graves and pray for their parents' safety. Caroline would often bring them flowers and tell them how much she missed them. On occasion she would come without Stefan and she would just fall to her knees and cry and ask them why they left her. Stefan on the other hand came to tell them that he was still in search of the wolf demons that had killed them, and that one day he would avenge them even if it was the last thing that he did.

He knew that his parents would be disappointed in him if they found out that their deaths had changed his entire life. Had forced him into an unhappy spiral of depression and revenge. But, he could not help it.

Stefan needed to kill them all in order to feel something again.

Many had told him that over the years he had grown more cold-hearted and hateful toward the demons, and it was true. At one point he had believed that there might be good in some of them. That some of them were worth saving. Now, he slaughtered each and every last one of them that he spotted.

He hated them and he hated anyone who attempted to stand in the way of his mission.

Caroline and Stefan had never married. But, they were still best friends and she had still aided in his endless search for the shifters. She, Rebekah, and Kol had dedicated their lives to helping him seek his revenge and ease his heart.

She worried though.

She worried about what would happen after he killed all of the wolves. She worried that he would not find peace at all. That he would just find an emptiness that he was attempting to fill with revenge. That he would be a broken vessel and he would turn to even more destructive behaviors in order to fill his heart.

Stefan had attempted to find peace elsewhere.

He had searched for the woman at the bread stand. Elena. He had not found her or her family anywhere in town. He even sent out a search party that came up empty handed. Somehow he knew that if he could just see the young woman again it would bring him some relief and happiness. She had made him feel alive before and she could do so again. But, she was gone.

Everything that he cared about was gone.

Everything except for Caroline.

Caroline had truly been his beacon of light at the end of the tunnel.

When he cried, she was there to hold him in her arms and comfort him. At night when he had horrific nightmares about his parent's being torn open and their hearts eaten in front of him, he would break down screaming in bed, and she would always find him and comfort him. She would lay with him in bed and stroke his hair until he fell back to sleep. He liked to think that they found comfort in each other. That on some level her helping him with his fears, helped her with her fears as well.

They kept each other going.

O

Bonnie traced her fingers along the scars that covered Damon's toned abdomen. She could still remember the day like it was yesterday. The day that she had watched him get his chest split open. His eyes had held such vulnerability and fear as his blood poured to the ground from the gaping wounds in his flesh. He had looked scared. She had not seen him look so vulnerable, so human, since.

"You could have died, you know?" She cast her green eyes up at him.

Damon shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I know." He paused and his eyes widened as he added sarcastically, "You remind me every day."

She sighed and rested her head against his chest, shaking it. "I know I do. It's just; sometimes I wish that you would be a little less reckless. I worry about you."

"You have nothing to worry about, Bonnie. I am already one of the only demons who can challenge Niklaus, and with your help mastering my magic on top of it, there's no way I can die." His voice had softened, but the confidence was still overflowing from him.

"I'm not only worried about the physical part of you dying, Damon." She stated pointedly.

Damon furrowed his brow at her and leant up on his elbows so that he could meet her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Bonnie paused and chewed on her bottom lip as she caught his eyes with her own. She did not know how to express what she was feeling without angering him. "I worry that something else inside of you will die. Your conscience, your compassion for human life—" She paused and glanced away from him. "—sometimes it feels like it already died."

He did not grow furious with her as she had worried. Instead he pushed them into a seated position and reached out to cup her chin, forcing her to stare up into his concerned eyes. He did not want her to think of him as a monster. She was the one person who had always seen the good in him, who had always believed in him.

"That isn't true. That part of me hasn't died." Damon insisted. "I am still the same man I have always been."

Bonnie smiled sadly and nodded her head. The comfort of his hand against her cheek causing her body to melt. She wanted to just lean into the touch and enjoy the way that it felt, but she could not shake this feeling.

"I know that you are still the same man. I just—I worry because I know how badly you feel pressured to join the other demons when they partake in demon activities. And you always tell me that it's just your way of feeling like you are a part of their army, but sometimes…"

"Sometimes?" He wondered desperately.

"Sometimes it really looks like you enjoy killing and hurting people."

Bonnie watched as his lips parted and his eyes filled with sorrow right before her. She hated hurting him, but she knew that she had to tell him how she was feeling. She had to get through to him. She was the only one who could make him see the path that he was heading down.

"I never enjoy killing people…" Damon's eyes held seriousness and honesty.

He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb and yet she still looked like she doubted him. She looked like she was terrified of him and it frustrated him to no end. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Bonnie asked.

"Like you're scared of me." Damon pulled his hand away from her and he searched her eyes for answers to his questions. He needed to know if she was scared of him. That was not something that he could live with. "Like you think that I'm some kind of monster."

"Damon, I don't think that you are a monster. I'm just worried about you."

"No." He backed away from her and knit his brow together as he looked her over. "You think that I am a monster. You think that I am just like the rest of them." He glanced away, only to have his head pulled back toward her as Bonnie moved between his legs and cupped his face with her hands.

"No. I do not think that of you." She insisted honestly. "I'm just worried about you. I know that you are not a monster."

Damon smiled gently as she traced her fingers along his prominent jaw. Every single touch sent shivers down his spine and made him crave more. He craved Bonnie Bennett on a daily basis. It made him feel like a terrible man. Like everything that she was saying about him, everything that she feared that he was, was true.

'_How can you even be thinking about such things at a time like this?'_

Bonnie ran her fingers lightly through his dark shaggy hair as she spoke. "You are the kindest man that I have ever met, and I love you for that."

She had said the words a thousand times to him over the many years that she had known him, but today the words sounded different to both of them. They held a deeper meaning. They meant so much more to them. Neither could really understand why they meant more, how they suddenly meant more, they just did.

And today, his words sounded different as well.

"I love you too, Bonnie."

They made Bonnie's heart leap and start to race. Her hands started to shake and Damon reached up to hold onto them and steady them with his own, covering her hands in a warmth that made her blush. She quickly glanced down at his lips and then back into his piercing blue eyes and she forgot how to think, how to move, how to talk. She knew that he was moving closer to her and that rationally she should probably pull away, but she did not want to.

Instead, she leant in and filled the gap between the two of them capturing his lips in a deep and passionate kiss. A kiss that said I love you, I want you, and I need you. A kiss that said I crave everything that you are.

O

"King Stefan." Kol said as he entered his chambers. He normally would have knocked, but the news was urgent. They had been searching for any lead on the shifters for years and finally someone had some news.

"What is it, Kol?" Stefan asked, looking up from his journal. It seemed to consume him lately.

The British man offered him a devious grin and the king knew that it had something to do with demons, immediately he closed his journal and walked toward him. "Someone has finally took a step forward and offered us information about those blasted shifters we've been hunting for years!" His excitement was not false. Kol was itching to kill something.

"Is it a reliable source?" Stefan did not wish to be disappointed. Many times it had been teenagers pulling pranks on them.

"His name is Tyler Lockwood. He is a knight from a foreign kingdom. It seems that his story checks out. Come quick, he is waiting in the throne room." Kol turned and led the way out of the king's chambers, noticing the way that Stefan's smile returned to his face. It had been a long time since anyone had witnessed it. They all had missed it.

Stefan entered the throne room and the knight immediately knelt to one knee and covered his heart with his hand in honor of him. He looked to be a simple young man, well-built and confident. He also looked trustworthy.

It was strange, but sometimes people just looked like they could be trusted.

His smile was honest and genuine and his eyes held vigor and happiness. It was refreshing.

"Hello, Sire." Tyler said.

"Hello." Stefan waved his hand signaling that the knight could stand to his feet. He immediately did as he was told and thanked the king. "I've been informed that you have a possible lead on where the wolf demons could be hiding?"

"Yes sir. I've heard of a city of demons hiding in the Northern woods near the lake. It is said that all demons migrate there to live. I figured that it was possible that the shifters have traveled that way, and if not then I am certain someone in those lands would know where they have headed."

"We will head out at dawn. Shall you accompany us fine knight?" Stefan wondered.

"With honor." Tyler nodded proudly.

O

Authors Note:

Thank you all for all of your wonderful reviews! Y'all keep me excited and writing and they mean so much to me. :) I'm trying to regularly update without having the internet so I hope that everyone is not disappointed with the chapters and the speed of my updates! I really want to hear from you guys! So please tell me what you thought of this chapter and I promise to update ASAP!

Thank you all for reading! Love you all! :))

-Tracy Cook


	8. Chapter 8

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Eight**

_**No Matter What I Say,**_

_**You Must Trust Me Never To Stray…**_

Damon had never realized how badly he wanted to be with Bonnie Bennett before their lips met. But after they had, everything hit him like a train. He had kissed many girls over the last seven years, yet none of them had ever made him feel the way that he felt when he kissed her. His body reacted in so many different ways, wonderful ways. It was like in that moment he knew that she was the one for him, that her lips were the only ones that he ever wanted to kiss again.

Bonnie's heart leapt and she let out a soft moan as Damon ran his tongue gently along her bottom lip, begging her for entrance. She eagerly granted him access and opened her mouth allowing his tongue to start a dance with her own as she tangled her fingers in his shaggy hair and pulled his body closer to hers.

She could not get enough of how his body felt against her own.

It made her feel things that she had never known were possible. She had never been with a man before, and she had never felt so aroused in her entire life. There was an unfamiliar throbbing between her thighs. She was aching to be touched by him.

Damon heard Bonnie let out a soft whimper as his tongue moved with hers passionately; it made his body shake and react. He could feel his animal instincts, and his need to please her taking over and he hastily flipped them over and pressed his body against hers. Bonnie could feel something hard pressing up against her thigh and it caused a blush to cover her caramel skin.

He stared down at her with glimmering eyes and a devious smirk that made her melt.

She could not explain it, but the way that he looked at her drove her insane.

He was the only one who could do that to her.

Green eyes widened as Damon leant down and recaptured her lips in a heated kiss. Her body naturally moved against his in a rhythm, their hips moving along with each other as they grasped at each other and attempted to fill all of the space between their bodies. It seemed like they could not get close enough to each other.

Suddenly, realization hit Bonnie and she pulled out of the kiss. Breathing heavily, her lips swollen and coated with saliva, and her eyes dark with desire as she stared up at him.

"Wait." She spoke between heavy breaths. "Damon, what do you think you are doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked with a waggle of his brow and a grin on his face. It shouldn't have aroused her, but it did. His arrogance could be so annoying and yet such a turn on at the same time.

"We—" She was interrupted as his lips collided with hers again. Bonnie forced herself to pull away, despite herself. "We can't do this."

Damon leant down and pressed his lips against her neck right below her ear, biting down gently and grinning when Bonnie let out a soft whimper of pleasure. Then he ran his tongue along her earlobe before taking it between his teeth and sucking on it gently.

"Mm… Damon… we can't." Her voice came out more of a pleasurable cry than a demand for him to stop.

"Why can't we?" He whispered hotly against her ear causing her body to shake.

"We are just friends. I—I don't want to ruin our friendship." It was the truth. Despite her obvious attraction toward the older man, she never wanted to ruin their friendship. Relationships were complicated and scary and she did not wish to lose him. He had been her best friend for all of her life.

"Maybe I want more than a friendship." Damon said, leaning in and kissing her deeply and grinding his hips against her. She moaned out in pleasure and dug her nails into his scalp, making sure not to hurt his long ears. They were extremely sensitive.

"Ahem!" There was a loud cough and both of them pulled out of the kiss and stared up in the direction of the cough.

Their hearts fell into their stomach and they both felt sick all of a sudden when they saw who was looking down at them. Their eyes filled with fear. It was Katherine Pierce standing above them with her arms crossed over her chest and a proud smirk on her lips. She looked pleased with finding Damon in such a compromising position.

"What do we have here?" Katherine asked, her smirk widening.

"It isn't what it looks like, Katherine." Damon tried to insist, causing Bonnie's eyes to fill with sorrow. She understood why he was saying such things, but it still hurt her.

"Really? Because it sure does look like Niklaus' lead warrior is playing tonsil hockey with some pathetic human girl. Is that not what is going on here?"

Damon could not find any excuse for his actions. He couldn't exactly lie about what he had been doing with Bonnie, it was evident that they had been kissing and that Katherine had witnessed the entire thing.

"Does this mean that you are showing sympathy for their race?"

"Of course not. This means nothing." He knew that he was hurting Bonnie, but in actuality he was attempting to save her life. There was a chance that they could get away with it if Katherine and Niklaus believed that he was only making out with her because she was a woman he liked. If they knew that he was in love with her then they would never let it go.

"Hmm…" Katherine looked the two of them over and shrugged her shoulders. "Either way, Niklaus is going to wanna hear about this. Get em, boys."

A group of male demons swooped out of nowhere and grabbed both Damon and Bonnie by the arms in order to take them to the demon leader. Damon glanced over at Bonnie and caught her eyes with his, trying his best to apologize. She simply cast her eyes away from him and allowed the guards to push her toward the demon lands. It broke his heart to see her so upset with him.

O

"Can we rest for a minute? I'm worn out." Caroline requested. They had been walking for what seemed like forever in the intense heat of the day and she could not handle it. Not with all of the armor that she was currently wearing. It made her feel like she was suffocating, but Stefan had insisted that if she wanted to join them that she would have to be prepared.

She knew how to use a sword. They had both been trained how to fight. She just never had used one in actual battle before and he wanted her to be safe.

Stefan did not know what he would do if he lost Caroline to the demons like he had lost everyone else. He would probably go mad and start to slaughter them all. The thought of losing his best friend made his stomach twist in knots and he forced the thought from his mind. None of them would be dying that evening. Only the demons. He would kill them all if he needed to.

"Please you guys, just for a minute?" She asked again when no one had responded to her.

"I do not understand why you insisted upon joining us if you could not keep up." Rebekah stated with a scowl on her pouty lips as she shot a glare in the other blonde's direction.

Caroline glared back at her. The British woman was really starting to get on her nerves. It was like all that she had tried to do for the last seven years was be nice to her and get close to her, and Rebekah was always so cold and heartless toward her in return. She hated her or something, but she didn't get what she had done to deserve the hatred.

She assumed that it was just jealousy. That was the only thing that made any sort of logical sense.

"I can keep up." She huffed, quickening her pace only to be matched by the other woman. "I just feel really hot and kinda hungry and I thought that maybe everyone could use a break."

"Only you, love." Rebekah smirked as Caroline was thrown off with the usage of the new nickname. She knew that the woman of royalty had a crush on her. It was as obvious as night and day. She was always stumbling around and flustered whenever they spoke to each other, and honestly it was completely adorable to the knight. She enjoyed teasing her about it and flirting with her on occasion, just to see what she would do.

"Uh—I—" Caroline's voice trailed off and she looked confused. _'Did she just call me love?' _A blush covered her cheeks. _'Did she mean that like—what, no! No way! She must have meant that differently… that must just be something British people say, Kol says that sometimes, it doesn't mean anything.' _

"Cat got your tongue?" Rebekah teased playfully, a glimmer of excitement in her blue eyes.

"What?! No!" She exclaimed angrily. She hated how the beautiful knight could always get under her skin. It had become such an irritating thing last few years and she was starting to really resent ever having a crush on her. She obviously would never feel the same way back and just enjoyed tormenting her.

"And I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a break." Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and continued to walk away.

Even so, she could not shake the ridiculous feelings that the word "love" had caused inside of her. She hated that Rebekah had such power over her with just one simple word. She hated Rebekah. _'I hate her so much… her stupid pretty eyes and those stupid kissable lips and that stupid sexy accent! Gah!'_

"You are so mean to her, sister." Kol said with a grin as he walked up beside the blonde.

"I am not mean." She insisted, but when he gave her a look that said that she was lying she smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps I am a bit mean to her, but it is all in good fun. I just find her so adorable when she gets all huffy and agitated."

Stefan watched as Caroline stormed away from the group, he allowed her to have her space knowing that she was extremely upset, but he kept his eyes on her the entire time. He felt like he was constantly watching over her and making sure that she was safe.

"I'm sorry about your parents." Tyler said with a small smile. He knew what it was like to lose someone close and he would never wish that pain upon anyone.

The king's body tensed when he heard the apology. Sometimes it shocked him just how many people knew about his parent's being killed by the demons. But, he supposed that he had not been too secretive about his revenge, and they had been the king and queen of their country so of course people had heard about the tragedy.

"I apologize, sire. I was not trying to upset you. I just wanted you to know that I will gladly die by your side to aid you in avenging their deaths."

"Why are you so loyal to a king of another country?" Stefan wondered with a perplexed look. He could not understand what motivated the man to help him, what motivated him to risk his life for him. "All that you needed to do was deliver the information, and yet you have decided to accompany me in battle. Why is that?"

Tyler cast his eyes to the sky and sadness filled them. "I lost my parents in a similar way. I watched them be slaughtered right before my very eyes. And I know just how badly it hurts to lose someone that you love so dearly. That is why I wish to help you."

"Do you ever miss them?" Stefan asked with a sad smile. He felt like he had finally met someone else who could relate to what he had been through. Someone aside from Caroline.

"I miss them every day."

"Do you ever feel angry? Do you ever want to kill whoever it was that murdered them?" He wanted to believe that he was not the only one with strong urges to kill the creatures who had taken away his parents. He wanted to believe that he wasn't alone.

"I feel that way all the time, truthfully." Tyler turned to catch Stefan's eyes. "But, I know that I have to rise up and be a better man like they would have wanted. I cannot allow that feeling to consume me entirely."

"It consumes me."

Both of them looked away from each other and an uncomfortable silence filled the air around them, aside from Rebekah and Caroline who were once again arguing with each other about something, and Kol who was laughing at the two of them.

"How much further?" Stefan asked.

"Not much further. Only a few miles." Tyler informed

"A few miles?" Caroline let out a groan as she continued to walk along the path. She already felt like she was about to pass out. She had not been trained to be a knight or a warrior; she had been trained to be a princess and a queen.

"Is everyone prepared for battle?" Stefan asked.

"I'm more than prepared." Kol said with a delighted grin on his face as he readied his sword for the demon lands. He could not wait to cut them all to pieces and watch them fall before him.

"Are you prepared, Caroline? It is going to be quite the battle, wouldn't want you to break a nail." Rebekah teased.

"I'm prepared." She growled in return.

O

Author's Note:

I apologize for the short chapter everyone! I have been really busy and trying to post chapters to my fics lately whenever I get the chance to be online. So this is all that I can give for now. But, I really hope that y'all enjoyed the Bamon romance scene and I would love to know what you think about all of the characters and what you think should happen or might happen now? I'd love to know anything that y'all want to happen! :)

Thank you all for reading! Love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


	9. Chapter 9

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Nine**

_**If You Do Not Understand,**_

_**Reach Out And Take Me By The Hand…**_

Damon watched as the demons pushed Bonnie down to her knees forcefully before Niklaus, and his blue eyes filled with agony. He hated seeing her in pain, but he knew that if he did not go along with whatever their leader ordered of him, then he would kill them both on the spot. He did not know how he was going to get them out of the situation, he just knew that he had to keep Bonnie safe and this was the way to do so.

Niklaus stood to his clawed feet and walked toward the two of them with a disappointed look on his face. If there was one thing that he hated more than anything in the world it was being disappointed and betrayed by the ones that he thought that he could trust. After seven years of self-proving and proclamation of pride toward the demon army, he had felt that Damon was nearly a brother of his.

Now he did not know what to think.

"Seven years." He spoke in his accented voice, glaring down at the half-breed. "Seven years is how long I have dedicated to training you, how long I have dedicated to caring about you, protecting you."

"I know, sire."

"I thought of you as not only a worthy warrior, Damon. I thought of you as a brother."

It was shocking to Damon just how hurt and betrayed that Niklaus seemed by his actions. He knew that they had become friends. In fact the leader had even given him a place in the demon lands to live. But, he had never thought that he would be so upset if something came between the two of them.

"How could you betray me like this?!" He screamed the words in Damon's face, his voice rising high and shaking. Then he forced himself to calm down. "Please tell me that this pathetic human is a measly trollop that you planned to have some 'fun' with before brutally slaughtering?"

Niklaus' voice was suggestive and Damon understood what he was implying. He was asking if Bonnie was just some human girl that he wanted to sleep with before killing her and eating her flesh. The thought of ever doing something like that made his stomach twist in disgust and his heart race angrily. He wanted to lash out and attack his leader for even suggesting such a thing, but he knew that it was best to play along with the game.

He cast his eyes toward Bonnie and searched hers for what she wanted him to say. She looked hurt. She felt like what they had just shared meant nothing to Damon.

"Tell me that is all that she is to you." Niklaus laughed, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Leaning down he stared the young half-breed straight in the eyes and spoke in an eerily calm tone. "Tell me that you haven't actually grown sympathetic for this pathetic human girl?"

Damon did not say anything.

"Tell me!" He screamed in his face.

"I haven't grown sympathetic for her." He said through grit teeth. Damon hated lying. He wanted to be able to stand up and say that he was in love with Bonnie Bennett, that she was a wonderful girl and it didn't matter that she was from the human lands. She was still perfect.

Bonnie's green eyes widened as she looked over at him. She could not believe that he was telling the demon that he had no sympathy for her. He was pretty much saying that she was just someone he was trying to have sex with and that was all. It shattered her heart hearing the words, but she knew that she had to believe in him. She had to trust in him. Damon was a good man and he would never do something to hurt her. Whatever he was planning was in order to save her life.

She had to believe that, because the alternative was too terrifying and saddening.

"Do you swear on your life to me that this thing between the two of you was nothing more than you having a little fun with a human girl?"

"I swear to you."

"Hmm…" Niklaus' lips twisted up into a demented smirk and he started to pace in front of the two of them, tapping his chin with his long nails. "I think that a test of your loyalty is in order."

"A test?" Damon furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Indeed." He turned to look down at Bonnie. Kneeling before her, he ran his nails along her cheek and she flinched at his touch. It made her feel disgusting. "In order to prove that your loyalty still lies with me we shall test it. Tomorrow, you will sacrifice this beautiful woman in front of the entire city in order to prove that you are more loyal to me than you are to her. Understood?"

He felt his chest tighten painfully. There was no way that he would ever sacrifice Bonnie. In fact he would easily attack and kill Niklaus before he ever allowed anyone to lay a hand on her. Still, this was the perfect opportunity to save her. It would grant them an extra night to figure out what they were going to do.

"Understood." Damon agreed.

Bonnie could not believe her ears. He had actually agreed to kill her in front of the entire city in order to stay in the demon army? He valued her that little?

Damon attempted to send her a reassuring look, but her eyes were fixated on the ground.

"Good. Now be a dear and put her in the dungeon." Niklaus told the half-breed with a maniacal grin. He got some sort of sick pleasure in watching Damon drag the girl toward the place where they kept their prisoners. It made him feel powerful, like nothing could stop him and like he was not going to lose his friend.

He did not wish to be forced to kill him.

O

Bonnie stared out at Damon through the bars of her cell. She still couldn't believe that he had actually proceeded to lock her inside. "You're really planning on killing me tomorrow, Damon? I mean, you've done a lot of terrible things but this—"

"—Of course I'm not planning on killing you!" He moved toward the bars, talking in a hushed angry tone of voice. He was frustrated with her. Not because she was upset, but because she still thought of him as such a monster. Sometimes it felt like she doubted him so much it made him want to just fall off the deep end and do something really bad.

She was a little surprised by the statement. "Then what are you planning?" Her voice softened and she relaxed.

"Well, I haven't really gotten that far yet, Bonnie." His tone was condescending and sarcastic. It often was. "I was just kind of focusing on, oh I don't know, keeping you alive for one more night."

Bonnie offered him a small smile of gratitude and reached through the bars of her cell signaling for him to come over to her. "Come here."

Damon did as he was told, making his way toward the cell and taking her hand with his human hand. It seemed to fit with hers better than his clawed hand. He stared down into her eyes and his lips quirked up into a smile. He was happy to see that she trusted him again. That was all that he wanted.

"Thank you. I'm sorry that I got so hurt by what you said; I knew that you were probably just trying to protect me. It's just—the thought of being that to you really…" Her voice trailed off and she shuddered in disgust.

"You would never be that to me." He insisted.

They shared a silent moment of appreciation for each other and then Bonnie returned to the matter at hand. "So, about this plan?"

Damon's wings twitched as he concentrated on coming up with a perfect plan. He didn't want to seem like a coward, but something told him that they could not take on an entire demon army. At least not right now. "I will come back for you in the morning when the city is sleeping and I will help break you outta this joint."

"Then what? Niklaus will never allow you to still be in his army if you do not sacrifice me." She stated logically.

"Then I will run away with you."

Bonnie's heart leapt when he mentioned running away together. The idea was as exciting as it was irrational. "But what about the army? What about your crusade against the humans? Where would we even stay if we ran away?"

"Jeeze witchy, I don't have answers to all of those questions yet. I just know that I no longer have a desire to stay here and prove myself to these demons. I know my worth now, and I know that none of that matters unless I have you."

"Do you really mean that?" She asked under her breath. "You really would be content running away together and leaving these lands behind?"

"Would you?" Damon asked with a raise of his brow.

"I mean, I'd have to tell my Grams." Bonnie justified. She wasn't really sure what to say. It was like they had just admitted their feelings for each other and now they were being forced to move in together. She didn't think that she minded the idea, but it was all happening so fast.

"But after you told her, then would you run away with me?" His blue eyes held such hope and need for her to say yes, that she found the answer easy.

"Yes, I would."

"Okay, that settles it. I will be back in a few hours to break you out. Then we can stop by your Grams' house on the way through the human lands and head that way. Sound good?"

"Sounds wonderful." Bonnie's lips twisted up and she flashed him a toothy grin. She could not force her heart to calm down if she tried. It was like this was all that she had ever wanted; she just had never known it. She wanted to live with Damon. She had practically lived with him for the last fourteen years as was.

Neither of them could imagine a life without the other.

"Oh, and Bonnie." He paused on his way out of the dungeon and turned to smile at her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

O

"The demon lands are right past this bridge." Tyler informed, glancing over at Stefan.

"Is everyone prepared?" Stefan asked again. He knew that Rebekah and Kol would be capable of taking care of themselves. They thrived on killing demons. But, it was Caroline that he was worried about.

When they all confirmed that they were ready, they started across the bridge toward the demon's city which was shockingly very humanistic. Stefan had been expecting some kind of caves, or animal dwellings in the forests, but it was nothing like that. There were tall brick buildings that towered over the city, streets, some sort of law system for flying it looked like, shops, salons, bars, schools, it was like they were just ordinary people.

What was most disturbing was the children playing in the streets. They seemed to amuse themselves the same way that he had when he was a child.

He knew otherwise of course. They were not ordinary people. They were revolting beings that took pleasure in killing, tormenting, and feeding on humans.

They were not to be pitied, they were to be killed.

"What are our orders?" Tyler asked.

"We will hold one of the demons hostage and ask them if they know of the wolf demons. Other than that the orders are simple. Kill every demon that you see. Understood?"

"Understood." They all responded.

Stefan and his group drew their swords and started into the city. They did not ask questions and they did not hesitate as they slaughtered every single demon that they spotted. Some were women, others were children, some were weak and some put up quite a fight. One of the demons flew out of nowhere and Caroline screamed and shoved her sword through his heart. It seemed to be a natural instinct of hers, but it impressed Rebekah.

"Good job, Caroline." Rebekah told her with a genuine smile on her face, before she turned and helped kill another demon with Kol's help.

Caroline's smile spread across her face so wide that dimples caved into her cheeks. She was just so proud that Rebekah actually thought that she had done a good job. She had never expected the other woman to be proud of her and it made her heart leap and a sudden confidence to overtake her. Now she was no longer scared and she no longer felt like she was exhausted, instead she had the energy to take on the world and fight any demon.

It was insane that one compliment could mean so much to her.

Finally, they made their way toward one of the open bars and Stefan pointed the tip of his sword at the bartender's throat. He figured that if anyone would know where the shifters were it would be the bartender. They usually heard everything. The bartender squirmed and let out scared whimpers as he lifted his hands in defeat. He was not a strong demon. He didn't even have wings.

"Do you know of the demons that can shift between human and wolf?" Stefan asked.

"I—uh—I have never heard of such a thing."

He dug his sword deeper into the demon's throat, piercing the flesh and causing him to bleed. "Don't lie to me. Tell me what you know or I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Please sir, please do not kill me! I am just a mere bartender. I don't know everything. I have never heard of these creatures that you talk about." He laughed. "That's crazy talk! Demons who can turn into humans!" He yelped when the sword once again cut his throat. "But! If you talk to our leader, he might know where these demons you speak of are."

"And where might we find this leader of yours?"

"He is probably in the arena training his men." The demon nodded in the direction of a giant arena where they could hear the crowds cheering.

Stefan then nodded his head and allowed the demon to run away. He wanted to kill them all, but it would have weighed down his conscience if he just killed a demon that gave him information. If he ever ran into him again he would kill him then. Right now he just needed to speak with their leader and find out where the shifters were.

O

Authors Note:

Thank you all for being so awesome and bearing with my short chapters. I promise that the next one will be longer and full of tons of stuff! Bonnie is going to meet up with team Stefan and that is going to start that interaction! And have y'all forgot about Elena? :) Well, someone just might be making an appearance next chapter! How do you all feel about Tyler and his interactions with Stefan and company? And Bamon and Rebekoline? What else do you think will happen next? What are your predictions?

Please do leave me reviews and I promise to get the next chapter up soon and make it longer!

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and reading my fic! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


	10. Chapter 10

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Ten**

_**Sometimes All Is Not As It Seems,**_

_**Sometimes The Quiet Ones Secretly Scream…**_

"And what do we have here?" Niklaus laughed and lifted his fingers signaling for his guards to stand in front of him, as he watched a group of humans walk into his arena. They appeared to be of royal blood by the armor that they sported and their weaponry and he knew not to underestimate their strength. Still, he could not help but think of them as senseless for wandering into his lands.

"Are you the leader of these lands?" Stefan asked, wielding his sword defensively and eyeing the demon warily.

"Why yes, I am." He grinned deviously. "And as such, I must ask what a young man of royal blood is doing invading my lands?"

He swallowed hard and cast his eyes toward the guards who were moving closer to him. They were growling under their breath and their eyes were a glowing red that terrified him. He stood his ground regardless and informed their leader of what he wanted. "I want to know if you have heard of the demon-kind that can transform from man to wolf."

Niklaus stood to his feet and stared Stefan down. "Just curious. If I had heard of such a demon, why on earth would I tell a pathetic human like you?"

"My reasoning for finding them has nothing to do with you or the other demons. These demons invaded my home and they killed my family. Do you understand what it feels like to lose someone that you think of as family?" Stefan could tell that his words struck a chord inside of the demon so he continued. "I watched those demons kill my last remaining family and I wish only to seek my revenge on them."

Niklaus' eyes were shimmering with tears and it was clear that he had lost a family member in a similar way. Family was his weakness.

"Don't listen to him, boss!"

Everyone turned to see the bartender that Stefan had been threatening earlier and their eyes widened.

"They barged into the city killin' every demon in sight! They even killed the children! These humans aren't here just for revenge on some wolf demons, these humans don't care about none of us!"

Stefan turned back to Niklaus, but it was too late. His eyes had hardened and darkened with pure hatred. His fangs were bared and his wings extended high into the air. He hated being deceived and lied to. "How dare you come into my kingdom and lie directly to my face!? Do you have any idea how powerful I am!?"

His guards moved toward the group of humans.

"Wait!" Their leader commanded and they both stopped, allowing him to walk down and confront the humans himself. "If you don't mind I'd like to personally tear their flesh from their bones." Niklaus flapped his wings and flew toward the group with his minions right behind him.

Rebekah and Kol both moved in front of Stefan. Their king's life was more important than their lives put together and they knew they needed to protect him. So, they attempted to slash the demons down and cut their wings from their backs, but the demons were far too powerful. Nothing that they were doing was even harming them. And even when they killed one of the demons more followed.

"There are far too many of them, Stefan." Rebekah told him.

The king glanced toward Kol for conformation. He would never back down from a battle, yet even he looked hesitant about staying. "I hate to agree with my sister." His grin spread across his face, earning a side glare from the blonde. "But, I must. If we do not get out of here they will kill us all."

Stefan nodded. "Alright, follow me." He turned and started to run out of the arena.

"Get them! Get them!" Niklaus screamed at the top of his lungs. "Don't you dare let them get away!"

O

Stefan and his followers found themselves locked down in one of the dungeons, holding the door shut so that the demons could not get to them while they thought up an escape plan.

"What the heck are we going to do?" Caroline asked with panic in her shaking voice. She felt like she was trapped. _'Because you are…' _Her mind teased.

"Our best bet is going to be waiting until they stop trying to get in and then making a run for it. There is no way that we can take on that many demons at once, we will be killed." Stefan stated as he continued to press his weight against the door. It was taking all of their strength to keep the demons out of the dungeon.

"Clever idea, except—" Kol started in a playful sing-song voice.

"Except what?"

"Except what if they never stop?"

All that he did was say what they were all thinking, yet it really hit them when he said it out loud. Silence filled the air and they all exchanged sad looks.

Stefan forced confidence and told him. "They will stop."

A few more minutes of silence followed the statement and then suddenly they all heard a sound coming from down in the dungeon. It sounded like a young woman who was crying. Kol looked to Stefan with curious eyes and the king nodded his head, signaling for him to head down and check where the sounds were coming from. If there was another human girl trapped in the dungeon, or any other humans for that matter, then they would have to save them as well.

Wielding his sword he headed down the stairs toward the main part of the dungeon. He found that the dungeon was actually a prison. There were many barred cells lining the walls, but all of them were empty.

All of them except for one.

At the back of the dungeon there was a cell that had a young woman inside of it. She appeared to be human and had long dark hair and beautiful caramel skin. She was about the same age as him, perhaps a few years younger, and she was absolutely breathtaking. He had never witnessed a woman as beautiful as she was. Regardless of the dirt and blood that stained her skin and clothes, she was still perfect.

Hastily he put his sword away and moved toward her. Still remaining cautious as he was trained, it could after all be a trap.

"Miss." Kol called out and the young woman snapped her head up to stare at him. Her eyes were full of confusion and fear. "Do not worry, love. I will get you out of there." He grinned and moved toward the lock so that he could break it.

Bonnie squinted her eyes at him and watched as he took his sword out and struck the lock with it. She could not help but notice the way that he spoke, his accent was enticing and the way that he called her love nearly caused her to blush. He was an extremely handsome young man, but even thinking that made her feel terrible and angry. She did not want him. She did not need anyone to save her. Damon would be saving her. He was the only one that she needed.

"I don't want out of here." She insisted.

This shocked him and he laughed. "Don't be ridiculous, of course you do! Why on earth would you choose to remain locked up in a jail cell in the demon lands?"

"I have my reasons. I don't need you to save me—"

"—Oh please! Tell me this isn't some bloody independence thing." Kol had learnt from his sister that many women did not need to be saved by men. "Now is not the time for that, love. I understand that you can save yourself, but the demons will break in here soon enough and you should be with us. We can help get you out of here in one piece."

"I don't need your help getting out of here." Bonnie insisted again.

"You are quite the stubborn one." Kol smirked and walked into the jail cell, reaching out a hand and holding onto hers. "I like it. But, now is neither the time nor the place, dearie." He raised a brow and caught green eyes with brown.

It was amazing how mesmerizing his eyes were considering that they were such a simplistic color. He was extremely handsome and he took her breath away. Suddenly she realized that he was dragging her out of the cell and she pulled her hand away from his. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere!"

"I beg to differ." He reached for her hand and suddenly the entire dungeon started to shake.

Stefan ran toward the two of them shouting. "The demons managed to break in! We've got to get out of here!"

Kol did not hesitate to grab onto the beautiful young woman and drag her toward the exit with them. He was not going to leave her behind to die. He wanted to know more about her; he wanted to save her life, even if she did not want him to.

O

Blue eyes watched as the group of humans dragged his love away. Bonnie was struggling in the young man's arms, trying to stay behind and wait for him, but they would not allow her to stay. They thought that if she stayed she would be in danger, and what was the worst part was that he believed that to be true. A part of him was happy that they had helped her escape, because he might not have been strong enough to get her to freedom.

Still, he had watched the young man who led their group. He had taken in his appearance so that he could hunt him down and find Bonnie later.

Oddly enough though, he did not feel like he would have any trouble finding the man.

It was almost like they had some sort of connection.

When their eyes met it had felt like he had met him somewhere before.

"I should have known that I would find you here, watching that pathetic human girl. You hide many things well, Damon. You hide your fear, you hide your weakness, but you cannot seem to hide your compassion and love for that one girl. Why is that?" Niklaus asked with a scowl on his lips as he glanced over at the man that he had once called a friend.

Damon did not say anything in response. He merely grit his teeth and clenched his jaw tightly, still watching as Bonnie was disappearing off into the distance. He now knew that Niklaus was no friend of his. If he was truly a friend then he would never persecute a woman that he cared for.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter why you cannot mask these feelings, it simply matters that those feelings are there in the first place." He rested his head against the half-breed's shoulder and looked up at him with playful eyes. "You know that I cannot allow those feelings to go unpunished, don't you?"

Again, he did not say anything.

Niklaus pulled away and lifted his hands signaling for some of his guards to take Damon to his torture chambers.

As the demons gripped onto Damon's arms, he turned and stared directly at the man that he had called a brother for the last seven years and he scowled. "You know, Nik, for someone who claims to want friends and family so badly." He paused and waggled his brow sarcastically. "You're a pretty shitty friend."

O

"If I may ask." Stefan started as he sat beside Bonnie at the campsite that they had made in the forest. "Why were you trapped in the dungeon?"

The question had been weighing on his mind for some time. He wondered if she had wandered into the demon lands by choice or if the demons had actually roamed into the city and kidnapped her deliberately.

Bonnie knew who he was. He was Stefan Salvatore. The king of their country and a man who hated all demon-kind. His goal in life was to kill and destroy every last one of them. So, she did not feel inclined to tell him the true story. In fact she did not feel inclined to tell any of them anything. She was still angry with them for taking her away from Damon.

"It was just some bad luck." She stated nonchalantly.

He had a difficult time accepting that answer and asked, "What do you mean bad luck? What brought you to those lands in the first place?"

Bonnie chewed on her bottom lip and stared down at the ground as she thought about the question. "A man that I know lives near there. A man that I love very much." Her voice was soft and broke due to the emotions she was feeling. She was terrified that Niklaus would kill him while she was gone. They were supposed to run away together. "He loved me and he wanted to be together, but when I went to visit him the demons found me and they captured me."

"But, he wasn't in the dungeon." Stefan pointed out.

He did not understand why they would have only captured her.

She knew that he was confused because the demons would have locked both of them in the dungeons if Damon was a human, so she quickly lied. "He managed to escape."

"And he just left you behind?" Kol asked from behind them with a sarcastic laugh. "Sounds like quite a catch."

Bonnie glared up at him and this silenced his laughter. She hated that the young man was speaking unfavorably about Damon. He was a wonderful and brave man who would have done anything for her. She knew that he still would. _'He will find me eventually and we will be together…'_

"He's the best man that I've ever met."

"I'm sure he's wonderful, love." The British knight said catching her eyes with his own. "All that I am saying is that if I were him, I would have never left you behind."

She did not know whether to feel flattered or angry at his compliment, because she knew that Damon would never leave her behind either. He would literally die for her if he had to. And the man standing before her didn't know her. He certainly did not know her like Damon did.

Suddenly they all heard a twig break in the distance and their heads snapped in the direction of the forest. Stefan felt his heart start to race loudly in his ears as he wielded his sword and started toward the sound. Internally he prayed that it would not be a group of demons that had followed them from the demon lands. His friends were all too weak to fight at the moment and they needed to rest.

What he found shocked him.

His mouth fell open and his eyes widened as he stared at the young woman who was walking through the forest. It was Elena. She was covered in dirt and she did not look like she had been eating well. It worried him. _'Is she starving…?'_

"Elena!" Stefan called out to her and the young woman quickly turned and stared at him, eyes wide like a frightened deer. And then she was off, running through the forest.

He frantically started to chase her through the woods. He knew that he was being irrational; it was obvious that Elena did not wish for him to talk to her. If she wanted him to talk to her then she wouldn't have disappeared for seven years and she wouldn't be running away from him. Still, he felt drawn to her.

He needed to see her again.

She made him feel alive.

O

Authors Note:

I want to apologize for this chapter taking so long to make and not being as long as I had hoped! Still I hope that everyone loved it and that y'all will review and leave me some encouragement! Y'all have been so amazing! And especially patient with me through these hard times in my life. I apologize for any grammar mistakes, my entire screen is busted :/ Please do tell me what y'all think! What's going to happen with Damon? What about with Bamon? Will Kol make his way into Bonnie's heart? Will Damon find Bonnie? What about Elena?

Thank you all for reading and being such a wonderful fandom! Y'all are perfect and I love you all!

-Tracy Cook


	11. Chapter 11

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Eleven**

_**Every Man Has His Secret Sorrows Which The World Knows Not…**_

_**And Often Times We Call A Man Cold, When He Is Only Sad.**_

Damon's wrists were chained up above his head with razorblades cutting into the flesh every time he made a move. His wings were tied down with a rope around his chest so that he could not move them and his feet were tied together as well. All of the weight of his body was resting on his wrists and it was the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt. He could feel the razors cutting to the bone and blood was rolling down over his toned arms and into his hair and eyes.

His face was covered in his own blood.

Yet despite all of his pain he still refused to keep his alliance with Niklaus. He refused to bow down to a man who would have him kill the woman he loved. He would make his own rules now and when he escaped, which he would, he would kill Niklaus and Katherine for everything that they had done. Then he would find the woman he loved and save her from the humans.

"What do I have to do to get you to give up on that bleeding woman!?" The leader screamed angrily, whipping Damon across his exposed chest with a barbed whip. It dug into his flesh and tore out chucks of skin.

He did not scream out in pain. He simply glared at the demon standing before him with a devilish grin.

"I'm never giving up on her."

"Damon, Damon, Damon." Niklaus laughed, walking toward him and placing a hand on his bleeding chest. "This is simply your human half speaking right now. If you would just allow your demon half to take over you would see, humans are not to be loved. Humans are to be mutilated and eaten! Perhaps if I found your precious human girl and ate her before your very eyes you would understand!"

Damon clenched his jaw and stared directly into his eyes. "If you touch her I will kill you."

"Now, now don't be snippy! You aren't exactly in a place of power at the moment, Damon."

"Not at the moment." He spoke each word with deliberation. "But, when I escape I promise to kill you in the most painful way possible."

"Really!? You would kill me, a man that you called your brother for seven years, over some pathetic human girl!?" Niklaus was disgusted and angry and he stabbed his claws into the side of Damon's abdomen watching as he squirmed in pain and the razors dug deeper into his wrists. "I beg you to reconsider."

"No." He lifted his eyebrows and smiled playfully despite the pain that he was in.

Niklaus dug his nails deeper inside of his chest so that they were scraping against his ribcage and Damon winced.

"And do you wanna know why?"

"Please do enlighten me?"

"You are a horrible leader. You claim to call me a brother and then turn around and torture me when I find happiness. You don't care about my happiness or anyone else's, you only care about yourself. And thanks to you, Nik, I now understand that humans and demons are not evil just because of their race. They are evil because they are evil."

"Humans are evil! They have killed our kind for centuries!"

"You've killed just as many of their kind."

"It was nothing that those disgusting fools did not deserve!"

"Yeah a lot of them are assholes." Damon grinned. "I get that. But, Bonnie is the nicest person I have ever met and if there are others like her in the human race then they can't all be bad."

"Don't be ridiculous dear boy!" Niklaus laughed. "That woman was probably only stringing you along with the intentions of hurting you, or perhaps…" He leant forward and whispered against one of the half-breeds long ears. "Perhaps she felt pity for you. Because, you are neither a human nor a demon. Because you are an abomination."

Damon's heart started to race and his muscles tensed at the word. He had been made fun of for his entire life for being different. It had always been a fear of his that Bonnie was only pitying him and that she never truly loved him. But, he knew that was not the case. He knew that she looked past the differences and saw who he really was, she loved him.

"That's not the case."

"Eh, only one way to find out. Got to go and find the girl. Please do wait here." Niklaus grinned and pulled his claws from Damon's flesh, licking the blood from them before heading out of the torture chambers.

He looked so proud of himself that it only surged on Damon's need to escape and wipe that proud look off of his face. He would kill him before he ever hurt Bonnie.

Closing his eyes he started to focus on finding a way to escape. It would not be easy to break free, but he knew that if he could break the ropes then he would be able to use his demon leg and wings to break out. He felt tired and sick and his body was growing weaker by the minute, but his need to see Bonnie again alive and well surged him on.

Laughter dragged him out of his concentration and he shot his head up. Standing before him was Katherine.

Damon started to growl under his breath and his muscles tensed.

"Aw, you don't look happy to see me, Damon. I thought that we had some sort of sexual tension going on between the two of us." She grinned and took a step toward him, running a clawed finger along his exposed chest.

"What on 'earth' would have given you that idea?" He asked sarcastically.

"Oh you know." She leant forward and ran her tongue along the bottom of his ear. "The way you hate me kind of turns me on."

Damon pulled away from her and bared his fangs. "Get away from me Katherine!"

"That's right; you aren't interested in your own kind." She laughed and paced in front of him. "Then again what is your own kind? Maybe that human girl is your kind? Or maybe you don't have a race at all. You have no place in this world, Damon."

"When I get out of here I am going to make a place for myself in the world. I am going to unite the demons and the humans and bring peace to these lands." His grin spread from one ear to the other and he added "But, first I am going to kill you."

She laughed in his face. "Good luck with that!"

O

Caroline was sitting on the ground and leaning against one of the trees in the forest. She found herself continuously looking over at Rebekah who was sharpening the blade of her sword. It was insane how one woman could cause her to feel so many different conflicting emotions. She felt attraction toward her; she felt anger and hatred toward her, but most of all she felt belittled by her. She felt like all that the knight thought that she was capable of was dressing up pretty and painting her nails.

All that she had wanted the last seven years was to earn the respect of the beautiful blonde, but she seemed to keep failing.

Suddenly, Rebekah glanced up and blue eyes connected with blue. They held the stare for a moment and Caroline could no longer remember how to breathe. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and her hands had started shaking. _'Why on earth is she staring at me like that!? Gosh does she always have to be so intense!?'_

"Is there something that you wished to speak with me about, Caroline?"

Caroline jumped and let out a shocked squeak, throwing her hands up in the air. "Jeeze, Rebekah! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

The British woman did not say anything in response. She simply chewed on her cheeks and pursed her lips as she waited for her to respond to her earlier question. She had noticed that the other woman had been staring over at her for a few hours and it was starting to become less endearing and more agitating by the minute. She wanted to know what was on her mind.

When Caroline didn't say anything, Rebekah asked again. "Was there a purpose to your blatant staring or not? Did you need a favor or were you merely admiring my beauty?" She said those words with a playful grin and watched as the royal woman's pale skin flushed a bright pink. _'It is beyond obvious that she is interested in me… it is actually rather adorable.'_

'_What is her problem!? Why is she always teasing me like that!?'_

Caroline coughed and stood to her feet, walking toward the knight. "Actually, I was kinda wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Whatever did you have in mind, love?" Rebekah spoke the words with a suggestive tone and a devious glint in her eyes.

"Uh—" She couldn't find her voice. It sounded to her like Rebekah was suggesting that she perform a sexual favor for her and it caused her blush to return full force and her body to react. She knew that the other blonde was only teasing, but regardless, just the thought of being intimate with her took away her breath. "Well—uh—I just thought that maybe you could help teach me how to wield a blade better. You're really good at it and um… yeah." Her voice trailed off uncomfortably.

Standing to her feet, she set down the sword that she had been sharpening and she took a step toward Caroline, staring deep into her eyes. "For some reason I thought that you were going to request another favor, sweet Caroline." She teased.

"Like what?" She swallowed hard.

Rebekah leant forward so that her full lips were practically brushing against Caroline's ear as she spoke, her hot breath rushing against porcelain skin and causing her to shiver. "Something a bit more interesting than teaching you how to fight, that's for certain." _'I swear, this woman is like putty in my hands.' _"Something that would not embarrass you nearly as much."

That statement snapped the blonde out of it and she backed away from Rebekah, her lips twisting into a scowl. She hated how she always belittled her. "What do you mean by that!? I can wield a sword just fine, Rebekah!"

"Then why would you be asking for me to teach you?"

"I—Uh! God just shut up and help me out! You seriously need to learn how to treat royalty! If you were anyone else I would have had your head for that comment!"

Across the way, Bonnie and Kol were sitting and watching the interaction between the two blondes. Both of them found it to be rather amusing.

"That poor girl! Your sister is so mean to her." Bonnie pointed out with a smile. "It's so obvious that Caroline is madly in love with her and she just keeps teasing her."

"Don't let Rebekah fool you, love. She may act like she does not care about the girl, but she does care deeply. That is simply how she always chooses to show her affections."

"Through teasing and taunting her?"

"Precisely. One day she will actually let her in and admit to the world how she feels." Kol watched as Rebekah threw the sword to Caroline, causing her to nearly stumble to the ground in the process. "It just appears that today will not be that day."

They both laughed at this.

"It appears so."

Kol's laughter died down and he turned to look directly into Bonnie's eyes. He found himself lost inside of them and their conflicting emotions. "Now you on the other hand, you are far more difficult to read."

"What do you mean by that?" She glanced away from him.

"You do not wear your heart on your sleeve like many girls. It's quite difficult for me to tell what is going on in that mind of yours." He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Are you thinking about the man that you spoke about earlier?"

Bonnie was shocked that he guessed what she had been thinking about. Damon had been on her mind nonstop since they had left the demon lands. She was heartbroken. He was supposed to arrive that morning and take her away, they were supposed to live together forever and now she was stuck with a group of people she didn't know. _'And one of them won't leave me alone… doesn't he understand I'm uninterested… I just want Damon.'_

"You were, weren't you?" Kol pried again.

She shrugged her shoulders and let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, I was thinking about him. I can't seem to stop thinking about him." When it looked like he was going to say something sarcastic and witty, she quickly added. "And I don't want to stop thinking about him."

"I see. Are you worried that those blasted demons tore him to pieces? I wouldn't put it past the bleeding monsters."

"Not all demons are monsters." Bonnie naturally defended. She hadn't even intended to. The last thing that she wanted was for the king to find out that the man that she loved was half demon. But, she truly believed that some demons were good.

"Ah, I disagree with you there, sweetheart. I believe that all demons are disgusting vile creatures that deserve nothing more than the harshest deaths." He grinned from ear to ear. Killing demons was his favorite thing in the world.

Bonnie didn't say anything and it caused Kol to wonder why she sympathized so much with the demons. He wondered why she had defended them and why the man that she claimed to love so much had left her behind. He was confused by the beautiful young woman sitting beside him, but he planned to figure her out.

He wanted to know more about her.

O

Stefan found himself running through the forest, zigzagging through trees, in his chase after Elena. He needed to know why she was constantly running away from him, why she had left the city, why she was in the forest. She had been the one person that had made him happy in so many years and he needed to know who she was.

He stopped abruptly when he spotted something in the fresh dirt on the ground.

All around him were animal tracks in the dirt. They appeared to be the tracks of wolves but they were twice the size of any wolf he had ever seen, any wolf aside from the demons that had attacked his family. His eyes darkened with hatred and his heart leapt as he started to piece together the puzzle. Elena had left the city right after the attack. He couldn't find her anywhere after his family was slaughtered. Along with this, she seemed to be living in the forest right near where the wolf tracks were made.

"It can't be her…" Stefan whispered under his breath.

He did not want to believe it.

He refused to believe it despite the evidence.

Elena was one of the gentlest people that he had ever met, and even if he had only spoken to her for a few minutes the only thing that he saw in her eyes was kindness. She was a good person and she couldn't be partially responsible for killing his family. It was not possible.

His head snapped up and he watched something run past him deep within the forest, it was Elena again, and she had disappeared into a log cabin. Stefan chewed on his cheeks and started toward the cabin, wielding his sword and preparing to fight. He refused to allow his feelings for Elena to cloud his judgment. There was a chance that she was a heartless demon and if that were the case he would have to kill her.

He sent up a prayer that it was not the case.

As Stefan reached the front door to the wood cabin, he lifted up his hand and rapped his knuckles against the door. Waiting impatiently for her to answer, prepared to attack if she was no longer in human form.

But, the person who answered the door was Elena.

She was the same girl that he held feelings for and she was smiling up at him.

"Hello, Stefan."

O

Author's Note:

Thank you all so very much for reading and leaving me wonderful reviews! You guys keep me adding chapters as fast as possible! What did y'all think of this chapter? Are you enjoying Rebekoline? What about Kennett? And do you guys think Elena is the demon? I hope that you are all enjoying this fic and thank you all for your support! I am a little worried that people may be losing interest in this fic, but I hope that y'all are still enjoying it! Leave me some lovins and I promise to have the next chapter up tomorrow! Thank you all so much!

I love you all!

-Tracy Cook


	12. Chapter 12

**Separated At Birth**

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I do not own anything; these characters belong to the creators of The Vampire Diaries.

Authors Note: This is an AU fic.

Pairing: Bonnie/Damon, Rebekah/Caroline.

Rating: M

**Chapter Twelve**

_**Being Deeply Loved By Someone Gives You Strength…**_

_**While Loving Someone Deeply Gives You Courage.**_

Silence surrounded Damon as he diligently rubbed the ropes around his ankles together. The only sound that could be heard echoing off of the walls of the torture chambers were his grunts of pain. With every kick of his legs, the razors dug into his wrists and scraped against his bones, but he knew that if he could free his legs then he could escape. He had to escape for Bonnie.

His concern for her numbed the pain and made it tolerable.

Finally, he rubbed the ropes raw and they were thin enough to break. This allowed him to move his legs around freely. Now he just had to find a way to lift his entire bodyweight over his head so that he could use his clawed foot to unlatch the contraption holding onto his arms. The problem with that was that the contraption holding his hands would nearly cut his hands clean off if he attempted to lift himself.

Damon didn't care though.

He had to do it. He had to escape and find the woman he loved. She needed to know that he would never just abandon her.

Mustering all of the strength that he had, he used his arms to lift his legs up over his head and he started to unlock the contraption with his sharp claws. The razors dug deep into the flesh of his arms, dragging along his wrists and causing deeper wounds to form and more blood to fall down on his face. It was nearly blinding him, but luckily he managed to see well enough to maneuver his way out of the blades.

As he unlocked the contraption, he fell to the ground with a loud thud. Quickly he removed the other rope that wrapped around his wings and arms, before sneaking out of the chambers. He did not have time to sit and lick his wounds, because Niklaus or Katherine could return at any moment. So, he grit his teeth and ignored the pain and the blood that was pouring from severed veins, and headed down one of the hallways toward the exit.

He had a plan.

Damon was going to head into town and speak with Grams. He knew that if the humans had brought her back to the city that was where Bonnie would be.

There was a large part of him that was tempted to find Niklaus and Katherine and take his revenge before leaving, but he couldn't risk it. If he died before he got to see her again it would destroy her. Plus, it wasn't worth it. They would still be there to kill at a later time.

O

Sneaking into the city was a difficult task. He had done so on numerous occasions in order to visit Bonnie. At first Grams had been against her granddaughter being involved with him. She did not think that it would be safe for her to be wandering around with a half-demon. For obvious reasons, if humans found out then she would have a target painted on her back, and if he could not control his need to kill then she could be killed by him.

Over time she had grown more tolerable about the two of them spending time together.

She had even helped hide him on occasion.

'_Though if Bonnie's not home, she's gonna be really mad…' _He thought to himself as he knocked on her door, holding the cloak over his back and head. Now both of those worries had come true. Humans had captured her, and he had put her in danger.

Grams opened the door a crack and peeked outside. Once she saw that it was Damon she immediately opened the door and her heart started to race. She was scared that Bonnie had been caught using magic or was mixed up in something in the demon world. "Hello, Damon. Please tell me that Bonnie is with you."

His face fell at her words. _'She isn't here…'_

He didn't need to say anything; Grams already knew that something was wrong. Quickly she welcomed him into the house and asked, "What happened to her? Did she get caught using magic? I told you two that you needed to be more careful."

"It wasn't that." Damon sat down on one of the couches and clenched his jaw. He was frustrated. He had hoped that she would be at her grandmother's house. Now he had no idea where to look for her or who the man that took her was. "It's my fault. One of the demons caught us together." He did not dare tell her what they were doing together. Not yet. "And she told our leader. He had her locked away in the dungeons and then a group of humans came and rescued her."

"But, if they rescued her, shouldn't they bring her back here?" Grams took a seat beside the young man on the couch. She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt Bonnie. The two of them were in love with each other, she had always known that. That was what made her start to trust Damon in the first place.

She knew that if Bonnie could see the good in him then there must have been good.

"Yeah." He furrowed his brow in frustration. "That's what I thought too."

Damon abruptly stood to his feet and started toward the door. He did not know where he was going to go next, but he knew that he could not wait around for Bonnie to show up. He needed to search for her. Find the group of humans who took her away, find the young man that he had witnessed. There was something about him, something in his eyes that he felt that he recognized. It was like he had seen him before, only he was certain he had never seen him before.

'_He just seemed so familiar… I need to find him.'_

"Where are you going?" Grams wondered, standing and following him toward the door.

"I'm going to find her."

"Good luck to you, child." She said with a smile as she watched him walk through the door. She had faith that he would find her.

O

"Wait?" Elena asked with a confused look on her face. "You think that I'm some kind of wolf demon?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"How on earth could you think that I was a demon, Stefan!? Look at me, do I look like a demon?" She took a step toward him and stared up into his eyes.

He searched her eyes and found only kindness swimming in their depths and it further frustrated him. Her kind eyes felt like lies. Like she was trying to trick him into believing that she cared and that she was human. "You wouldn't look like a demon, Elena. These creatures have the ability to transform from demon into human in a matter of seconds."

"But, why would you think that it was me?"

"There are wolf tracks in the soil surrounding your house! Not to mention, you moved out of the city into the middle of nowhere right after my parents were slaughtered by those demons! If you aren't one of them then why would you move!? And why would you run from me!?"

"I'm not a demon!" She insisted angrily.

Stefan took another step toward her and reached out to hold onto her arm, staring deep into brown eyes. "Then why did you leave the city and why did you run when you saw me?"

"Because you are the king." Elena told him honestly. "And my father and I are taking part in illegal activities."

He suddenly felt numb.

Like all of the hope that he had was gone.

He had finally thought that he was on the right trail and now he was finding out that everything he had done was for nothing. There was a small ounce of happiness inside of him, though. He was happy to hear that the woman that he had developed feelings for was not a demon. That she was just a mere criminal.

"What activities?" Stefan attempted to keep his duty as the king.

"My father and I fled the city because the taxes were raised and we could no longer afford to pay on our house. We figured that if we lived outside of the city walls we wouldn't have to worry about taxes. But, we still weren't making enough money to live on, so we started stealing from the city and selling back products at a cheaper price to make some extra gold."

He watched her face and he witnessed the terror and fear painted across it. It told him that what she was telling him was the truth. And he wanted to believe her words more than anything, because if she was telling the truth then it meant that his feelings for her would not be in vain. It meant that she wasn't evil, she was just scared of him because she was disobeying his father's laws.

"My father would have you executed for stealing from within the city walls." Stefan informed her with a scowl.

Elena's eyes widened, she had not expected him to threaten her life. She quickly started begging, "Please don't have us executed! It was the only way for us to make a living!"

"Luckily." He smiled and released her arm. "I am not my father."

She let out a breath of relief and color returned to her face as she realized that he was not threatening her life. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, I am not going to persecute you for your crimes. I have much more pressing matters to attend to. I apologize for barging in, and I must be on my way. But—" Stefan paused and his lip quirked up into a smile causing Elena's heart to leap. "—it was nice to see you again."

O

Damon was a man on a mission.

His blue eyes were fixated on the entrance to the city, his jaw was clenched tightly, and his brow furrowed in deep thought. Over and over his mind reminded him of what he needed to do and why he needed to do it. He needed to form an army in order to take over the demon lands and unite them with the humans, and he needed to find out who the man was that took Bonnie from the dungeons.

Every minute that he spent away from her, not knowing if she was safe, was a minute of pure agony and concern. He needed to know that she was alive.

"Look what piece of scum decided to come into our city!" A man's voice spoke loudly behind him.

Damon's long ears twitched and his scowl turned into a smirk as he turned to face the group of humans. They were all wielding weapons and they appeared to be angry with him for entering the city. "What did you just call me?"

The man took a few steps toward him and spit in his face, "I called you rotten demon scum!"

His muscles tensed and he grit his teeth as he stared deep into the eyes of the human. He wanted more than anything to reach out and break his neck, but people from the city were now surrounding them and watching the confrontation. He knew that if he was going to unite the demons and the humans then he would have to have both races on his side. He would be forced to kill his pride and endure their ridicule to prove his point.

"I just came to visit someone." Damon spoke spitefully, but not violently. "I'm not going to hurt anyone, so how about you leave me alone."

One of the other men walked up to him and looked him over. "And why the hell would we just leave you alone!? We don't allow your kind here in the city."

"You should leave me alone." He raised his brows as he spoke. "Because, I am not here to cause any problems. I have no intentions of hurting anyone. I only want to unite the humans and demons and show the humans that not all of us are evil."

"I've watched a demon eat a child! Do you really expect me to believe that not all of you guys are evil!?"

"I do." He grinned playfully.

Damon knew that they could not physically harm him and if they attacked him then it would only make the humans look worse. He refused to fight back.

"I see, you wanna be a smartass eh?" The man took another step toward the half-breed. The cigar that rested between his lips moving as he spoke. "How about you get the hell outta our city before we force ya out."

"I would like to see you try." Damon replied confidently.

The men moved toward him angrily, throwing up their hands in a rage and attempting to attack him. But, before they reached him they were silenced by a dagger flying through the air. It quickly sped past the man in the front of the group, slicing his cigar in two. He stared in shock as it fell to the ground.

All of them turned to see who had thrown the knife, including the demon.

Standing in front of them was a young gentleman. He was wearing a very expensive looking tuxedo, his hair was slicked back stylishly, and he was wielding another dagger between his fingers as he stared the men down. His features were that of a human.

The other humans moved toward him with looks of confusion written across their faces. No man had ever stood up for the demons. They were monsters and to be hated, not to be sympathized with and defended.

"Who the heck do ya think you are?"

"That man was doing nothing to you." He spoke with a punctual British accent.

"That man?" The human laughed, pointing at Damon. "He's no man! He's a demon!"

"He has been nothing but respectful and courteous toward you, and from what I witnessed he was merely minding his own business."

"How about you stay outta this! You've got no right interuptin' our argument and telling us what to do! If you sympathize with demons then you may as well be as bad as them! Come on guys! Kill both of—" He started to cough on his own blood as the other dagger pierced through his throat. His blood spurting and covering the mystery man's face.

Within seconds he was dead.

The other men exchanged looks and then scurried away frightened. Leaving the man to grin victoriously and Damon to wonder who he was and why he had sympathized with him.

He put his knives away and then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face and hands. "You are most welcome." He informed.

O

"Tyler?" Stefan asked as he walked through the front door of Elena's house.

The young knight was simply standing there staring him down with angry eyes.

"What are you doing here? Did you follow me?" The king wondered curiously as he took a step toward the other man. His eyes were dancing with something that looked nearly psychotic and it was starting to really frighten him.

"Yes, I did." Tyler grinned and his eyes flashed a bright yellow.

"Your eyes." Stefan breathed out.

"I've been waiting a long time for this."

O

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update this fic! My other computer was broken so I had to get a new one! But, I finally did so hopefully I can update more often! Thank you all for you wonderful reviews and encouragement! It has meant the world to me and I hope that y'all continue to enjoy this fic! How did you like this chapter? New characters introduced! Did you like it? And what about Tyler? :) Please do tell me what y'all think and what y'all want from the next chapter!

Thank you all for reading! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


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